The two words €œdemocracy€ and €œVietnam€ are rarely paired even in scholarly literature. Yet one can credibly say that democracy and politics in contemporary Vietnam go hand in hand.  One section of this presentation will highlight two contentious conceptions of democracy in Vietnam €“ substantive, which the incumbent regime aspires to, and procedural, which many domestic critics demand. Another section offers reasons why Vietnam's political system is unlikely to change soon to a procedural democracy.

About the Speaker

Ben Kerkvliet, an Emeritus Professor at the ANU, does research on the Philippines and Vietnam. One of his books is The Power of Everyday Politics: How Vietnamese Peasants Transformed National Policy (Cornell University Press, 2005).

Details of forthcoming and recent PSC seminars, workshops and conferences can be found http://ips.cap.anu.edu.au/psc/events