governance, development, and the responsive-repressive state in vietnam
Post on 16-Jul-2015
32 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
S
Governance, Development, and the
Responsive-Repressive State in
Vietnam
Benedict J. Tria KerkvlietPresented by Hang Nguyen
Agenda
S Context
S Governance
S Development
S Democracy
S Responsiveness
S Repressiveness
S Debates among critics
Context
S Good governance: appropriate public policies,
authorities being accountable to the people and people
being able to influence policy-makers.
S Development: the improvement of citizens’ economic
and social welfare.
S Democracy: free and regular elections, a multiparty
political system, multiple branches of government
(legislative, executive and judicial), freedom of press and
speech, and robust civil society organisations.
Governance
S Communist Party:
S only authorised political party
S dominates national and local government offices, the
bureaucracy, the legal system and mass media
S Official ‘mass organisations’ for workers, peasants,
women and other sectors of society are closely tied to the
party and its government.
Development
S Citizens’ welfare has improved considerably.
S ‘Democratic institutions are not necessarily required for
improvement in people’s well-being, accountability of
authorities and citizens’ influence on policy-makers’.
S Relationship between governing authorities and citizens.
Responsiveness
S Vietnam’s political system:
S A top-down system dominated by a centralised CP-run state with
no room for societal influences and political activity, or
S An authoritarian system that is largely a CP-run state but allows
some citizen participation through its official ‘mass organisations’,
or
S A system with considerable dialogue and negotiation between
components of a somewhat decentralised state and various
interests in society, including those not in official organisations.
Responsiveness
S According to how citizens have conveyed their views and
concerns to authorities
S ‘Everyday politics’: Urban residents: housing
S ‘Public contests’: collective farming & redistribution of land
S May 1997: Protests in Thai Binh used limited force to restore
order.
S Workers’ strikes (unlawful): low wages or abusive treatment
government repression is rare
S ‘Lawful channels’: writing petition, letters of complaints,
meetings with officials, lobbying decision-makers… (VCCI)
Repressiveness
S Repression also conforms with the interpretation that Vietnam
has an authoritarian political system that allows citizen
participation but only through official, authorised organisations
S Most repression is against people who try to disrupt social
order, weaken national security, destabilise the political
system, undermine the government, or dislodge the
Communist Party from power.
S Methods: harassment, physical violence, arrest and/or
imprisonment.
Repressiveness
S February 2001: Central Highlands protest – conflicts over
land/Evangelical religious practices sent in military troops
and district security police units
S ‘Democracy movement’: public advocates for democratic
institutions and the protection of free speech and other human
rights
S Dozen political parties and other organisations (no legal standing)
S Newspapers, publications
S Bloc 8406: Declaration of Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam
harassment, intimidation, occasional arrests and
imprisonments
Debates among critics
S Responsive-repressive: non-violent, peaceful struggle
S Struggle through participation and engagement with authorities
and state institutions causes significant mutation and
conversion toward democracy over time.
S Struggle that directly confront authorities and institutions the
state as stubbornly opposed to significant change and highly
prone to repression
S The only way for governance in Vietnam to improve is to
replace the CP government with democracy
Debates among critics
S Struggles for better living conditions and other specific issues
influence the CP government and help the country to develop.
S Democratisation movement = restore the Saigon regime?
S Critics favouring confrontational struggle stress direct
opposition to the CP and its government little or nothing
worth saving of the present political system should be
‘completely replaced’; ‘incapable of being renovated or
modified’
S Development cannot happen until VN has democratic
institutions/multiple parties?
Thank you for your attention!
top related