This snapshot is an extract from our latest publication Vietnam 2016: Frontier in Transition, available to download here.
The entrenched political system in Vietnam is one of the most stable in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Here, disruptive demonstrations are a rarity. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is, unsurprisingly, a one party state. The Communist Party has ruled the country for the past four decades, and the north for much of the past seven.
However, one party rule does not mean one policy. Like its neighbour to the north China, Vietnam embarked on a wide ranging economic reform programme after experiencing the failures of a centrally-planned economy. Overall, the reforms have been a success.
Teething pains upon introduction of the reform programme were nothing like the Big Bang policies which so devastated the former USSR. Vietnam saw what happened to its old allies when market forces were let loose on an unprepared economy, and has chosen a more gradual approach.
Barely a decade after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam’s leaders had the foresight to embark on a programme of reforms, the ‘Doi Moi’, in 1986. Following degradation of national infrastructure and livelihoods in the mid-20th Century, Vietnam then faced the ravages of a statist command economy. Famine and food shortages were the new enemy. The way out was clear – open up, loosen internal restrictions on trade, and attract foreign investment to make the transition from an economy balanced between the industrial north and an agrarian south, to an urbanised global manufacturing and services hub.
The 2016 National Party Congress will see the selection of party and government leaders. When the new wave of leaders take the reins, there may be a change in the pace of reforms, but not direction.
Sources: Asian Development Bank, World Bank
This snapshot is an extract from our latest publication ‘Vietnam 2016: Frontier in Transition’. Download a free copy by filling in your details below:
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