Between the Party-State and the Global Order: The Evolution of Civil Society in Vietnam in Historical Perspective

This article examines the broad evolution of civil society in Vietnam in the last three decades within the context of global and domestic political changes. As the country became closely tied to the global economy and society, civil society underwent a rapid expansion before the ruling communist party recently deemed it a threat and suppressed it. The dramatic rise and recent retreat of civil society raise important questions about the possibility and extent of political change under Vietnam's communist rule. Building on the extant literature and employing illustrative case studies, this article offers a historical and global perspective that shows how the co-transformation of the ruling communist party-state and the global order over time nurtured civil society at some points yet became hostile to it recently.