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Vinh Le
12/07/2014
Prof. Solimini
Final Paper Vietnam before and after Doi Moi policy.
Imagine, there decades ago, what was Vietnam? One of the most aggressive economy in the world? No. It was one of the poorest and the most under-developed country. What miracle happened to change the face of the country? In such a situation, the Government did what needed to be done: making a revolution. An innovation named Doi Moi (renovation) was introduced in 1986. Since Doi Moi, we have witnessed a wide variety of changes in Vietnam. During the past two decades, its economy has grown at an annual average rate of around 7.5 percent, making Vietnam one of the fastest growing countries in the world.
Key words: Bao Cap(subsidy) period, Doi Moi(renovation) policies 35 years since the day the war ended (April-30-1975), Vietnam economy has transformed from a Socialist economy into a Market economy with all the attributes that a competitive economy needs. In this economy, the fluctuations of supply and demand or financial instability occurs, inflation appears as a matter of fact. But with the economy operating under the Socialist way the word “inflation” was not a concern of those who guide and steer the Bao Cap economy. Before Doi Moi policies, Bao Cap period was a stage where most economic activity takes place under the central planned economy- the characteristics of the economy under communism. Le 4
Goods were distributed under the state stamps, goods
Production was nonexistent. Northern industries and infrastructures were systematically ravaged by the military might of the United States. The South fared little better. Viet Cong attacks disrupted significant economic activity. The fall of Saigon ended this murderous conflict in 1975. The country was united again under communist economic tutelage. This correlated to huge drain of human capital. By 1982, close to 1 million people fled the country; among them tens of thousands of professional, intellectual, technicians, and skilled workers. The next decade (1976 - 1986) saw the economy of Vietnam plodding along under the weight of central planning. The Vietnamese economy has been plagued by enormous production difficulties, supply and demand imbalances, inefficiencies in distribution, soaring inflation rates, rising debt problems, excessive governmental corruption and illegal asset confiscations by authorities. Vietnam is one of the few countries in modern history to experience a sharp economic deterioration in a postwar reconstruction period. Its postwar economy was one of the poorest in the world and has shown a negative growth in total national output as well as in agricultural and industrial production. Cracks began to appear in the facade of the communist command economy. In 1982, a compromise was reached. Excess food production was allowed to be sold at markets or sold to the State for profit. Free enterprise was sanctioned and small export firms were established to try to sell on the export markets. Planning started to unravel from the rigid communist system and decentralization was allowed to flourish. This activity culminated with the Doi Moi reforms to economic activity. Doi Moi (Vietnamese Perestroika) combined free market incentives (profit!) with government planning. The program abolished agricultural
The 1945 Declaration of Independence of Vietnam is a key event in history, which caused and by which caused consequences that affected not only them, but other countries of the world as well.
In 1960s, the US was faced with another crisis of communist expansion in the war between North and South Vietnam. The Kennedy Administration decided to further pursue their containment strategy out of fear being seen by the international community as weak towards communism. During the Johnson Administration, an attack against American vessels that happened in the Gulf of Tonkin led to President Johnson being granted the ability to conduct broad military operations without congressional approval. The American public began to largely oppose American intervention in Vietnam because the optimistic statements made by the government ran contradictory to the reports of the violent fighting by American news outlets. During the Nixon administration, the US switched to a policy, later known as Vietnamization, where the main goal was to strengthen the South Vietnamese forces and provide them with better armaments so they can better defend themselves. Vietnamization proved to be ineffective as the South Vietnamese forces were unable to hold their own against the North without US air support as proven during Operation Lam Son 719 and the Easter Offensive. The signing of the Paris Peace Accords officially ended US involvement in the Vietnam War. The US followed containment policies during beginning of the war due to the underlying fear of the spread of communism and since the policies were inherited from previous
The Fall of Saigon on April 30th, 1975, marked the end of nearly two decades of fighting between the Russia and China backed communist North Vietnam and the US backed right wing South Vietnam. When the North Vietnamese army entered Saigon, the free world was horrified at what it believed to be major drawback in its attempt to defeat communism around the world. In accordance with the domino theory, that same year, the capitals of neighboring former french colonies, Cambodia and Laos, both of which were also run by right wing regimes supported by the US, fell to communist insurgencies Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao respectively. It took the communists three decades, millions of lives, and the destruction of billions of dollars in infrastructure and assets overthrow these western backed governments. So what gave these people, especially in Vietnam, incentive to sacrifice so much to “free” themselves from those governments and embrace communism as their system of governance? As this question is answered, it is important to identify aspects of the communist ideology that appeal to the general population, as well as how it goes along with Vietnamese culture, the actual practice and execution of the ideology.
Throughout the course of history there has been a few basic pioneer traits which has become habitual and a way for humans to express themselves. One of the main and core habits which is an important way of expressing ourselves is through communication. Furthermore, as one becomes more precise about communication, they soon realize that they might not have the same views on certain topics. Hence, this leads to argumentation, which is the process of supporting an idea or simply a means for one to express and communicate themselves. Typically, an argument does not consist of name calling, and as a matter of fact disapproves ideas without evidence. Alternatively, good arguments consist of a few vital rhetorical issues such as, supporting evidence,
The economy is known as a new emerging economy especially after entering WTO in 2007. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has increase considerably and the GDP is over 8% in the period of three years (2005-2007). Nonetheless, it is clear that the economic instability occurs after WTO accession of Vietnam 1 year. Consequently, the economy has suffered surging inflation as well as trade and fiscal deficit. (Figure 1)
Ho Chi Minh had 3 different solutions to bringing Vietnam out from French rule which he called brocade bags. Ho drew the term “from a well-known Chinese tale widely read in Vietnam in which not one but three such bags figured as repositories of ingenious solutions to daunting problems confronting their owner.” (page 23) His three brocade bags were: the ideas of Lenin, patriotism, and a populist program. With them, Ho drew a mass base of support from the general population. One of the struggles Ho face with was that he did not have enough proletariats to help make a good spearhead towards change.
Andrew J. Bacevich was born 1947 in Normal, Illinois. In 1969, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and served in the Vietnam War for a year from 1970 to 1971. He retired in the early 1990’s with the rank of Colonel after also holding posts in Germany, Persian Gulf, and the United States. He later earned his Ph.D. in American Diplomatic History from Princeton University. He is a professor at Boston University, currently teaching international relations. He is also a retired career officer of the U.S. Army and one of the former directors of Boston University’s Center for International Relations. In 2007, his son, First Lieutenant Andrew Bacevich Jr., who also served in the U.S. Army, was killed in action at the age of 27.
One of the longest war in American History, The Vietnam war, initially started with the US aiding the French in the First Indochina war. Where a temporary peaceful solution was resolved. The temporary solution of peace didn't last long. With the fear of the spread of communism, the US backed a non communist regime which eventually created the Republic of Vietnam. Through out the year the New party in charge of Vietnam (Diem Regime) was found to be corrupt and was replaced with another Regime. None of these US backed Regime seemed to be useful to creating a peaceful Vietnam.
The war in Vietnam was a liberative exertion with respect to the Vietnamese, from provincial enslavement by western forces like France. Further division among the Vietnamese on political lines saw the heightening of the Cold War with the north accepting backing from comrade associates and the south from the US and other non-socialist nations. The US was vigorously included in the Vietnam War considering the expansive number of assets and troopers conveyed in the war-torn nation. Both sides of the Cold War were included to guarantee that neither benefitted from the political division of the nation to influence it to their side. The US was especially worried about the spread of socialism toward the south, in this way the war served to contain
The Vietnam war is exactly the kind of situation George Washington had in mind when he warned the future leaders of the United States against alliances. While they offer a level of security, they can also be a liability especially when you are as strong as the United States was in the middle of the twentieth century. And this is exactly what happened in Vietnam, when the United States becomes too invested in our commitment to allies it hinders our ability to focus on domestic policy. The question we should have asked before getting involved is, “how will this affect our ability to build from within?” During the Vietnam war, this would have meant compromising our foreign agenda, such as the multinational army. The United States then would have had the ability to maintain their appearance of a loyal alliance to the rest
The Vietnam War was one of the bloodiest wars in the history of Vietnam. Vietnam use to be a peaceful country until the idea of communism started spreading across Vietnam. Many wanted to stay democratic but saw what happened to the Germans and started to lean towards communism. Many also wanted to stay democratic and still had it hopes high that it will soon get their lives and economy back on track.
Compared to Vietnam, America had very different ambitions and motives within the war. The U.S. was part of a large goal, known as “containment”, which was essentially stopping the spread of Communism. America believed that Communism Now in order for America to fulfill their goal of having an anti-communist society, they needed a powerful and determined leader who would vouch for them and support their belief of abolishing communism. Which is why in October 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem defeated the former emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai, and appointed himself president of South Vietnam ("Ngo Dinh Diem."). Ngo Dinh Diem was originally a Vietnamese political leader who was born into one of the noble families of Vietnam. Diem was well known by the Vietnamese
As well as taking office in 1969, U.S. President Richard Nixon introduced a new strategy to office called Vietnamization that was aimed towards finally ending American involvement in the Vietnam War (1954-75) by moving all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. This increasingly unpopular war had made deep division in American society, so Nixon believed his Vietnamization strategy, which involved building up South Vietnam’s military strength in order to create a slow building withdrawal of all U.S. troops, would prepare the South Vietnamese government to take responsibility for their own defense. In 1973, the U.S. negotiated a treaty with North Vietnam, withdrew American fighting troops and then declared the Vietnamization process complete.
Vietnam is world’s 13th most populous country, majorly consisting of Viet and Kinh ethnic groups. Vietnam has Vietnamese as official language and some other languages exist in minority groups. Vietnam adopted “seclusion” policy which made the country isolated and faced a deep crisis which led them on brink of bankruptcy. After 1995, started globalizing and established relation with United States and Vietnam also became member of WTO in 2006. There are many aspects that helped Vietnam to grow faster. PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technical, Legal and Environmental) analysis helps in analyzing overall business opportunities and ease of doing business in country. Vietnam PESTLE analysis is as follows:-