Political History of Vietnam - Research Paper Example

? Vietnam Country Report al Affiliation A country that has been ruled for long may take some time before it develops economically. Most countries in the world were colonized and soon after achievements of independence, some re-organized themselves and formed a stable government, while others developed neo-colonialism. The formed governments were corrupt, dictatorial, and often faced varied challenges, but finally, most countries are now picking up. The colonial powers remain to be the watch dogs of their former colonies. This wasn’t the case in Vietnam; this is the country that served three colonial powers although France was the latest to rule. After achieving independence in 1945, the French nation did not offer financial support to Vietnam; furthermore, Americans intervened into the matters of this nation. The nation was divided into two; the northern socialist and the southern communist. Both sides faced major challenges despite the effort put by the first president to stabilize the whole nation. However, in 1976, the two regions merged and became one nation of Vietnam. This was a big step, which later led to economic development. The major vices faced by this country included dictatorship and corruption, even though in the recent past, the government have put efforts to negate these attributes, so as to rise more in terms of economy, hence gaining recognition by international communities. Keywords: Vietnam, Government, Colonial Powers, Colony, France, Rule, America, Independence, Nation, Socialist, Communist, Dictatorship, Corruption, International Community Political History of Vietnam Vietnam is a country that had been under colonial rule for a long time. It was ruled by the Chinese for around 1053 years, before the rule of Japan and some other regions by France. However in 1945, Vietnam was declared a free state by the then leader, Ho Chi Minh. In his independence declaration, he tried to sooth the Americans so as to support the move against France, from reclaiming any territory of Vietnam. After the Second World War, America associated itself with France to reclaim some of its territories in Vietnam. This was to the disappointment of Ho Chi Minh, and although this attempt failed, the Americans tried to colonize the Vietnamese, in a move to ensure that Vietnam was transformed to a western oriented nation. Vietnam had lost most of its valuables and could neither have freedom to have its own government, nor develop its own economy; instead it was constantly in war. This angered the then American president Roosevelt in 1944, who complained that France had milked Vietnam for many years (Bradley & Young, 2008). All along, with the separation of Vietnam into communist south and socialist north, the country could not make any substantial development. Instead it was a fight for supremacy, and there were many militias and foreign aggressions. However, in 1974, Vietnam was united, although it further faced segregation from the international community. It had been accused of invading Cambodia, faced cold war and had been granted sanctions by America. It was a difficult situation given that the currencies were controlled by these nations. The leaders struggled to progress with the limited freedom and with the unstable economy. Nevertheless, their effort began to bear fruits in 1986, when it adopted economic reforms, which saw the economy grow substantially. This is the country that had been affected most my political instability. Had such a nation been granted its independence earlier, then it would have grown long ago and reached greater heights in its economy. Its growth due to the independence is enough evidence to show that it had potential, but lacked the opportunity. Its restoration is also attributed to the Paris agreement of 1991, where it established diplomatic and economical relations with other nations. Vietnam Political system Vietnam is a presidential state. It is headed by the chief of state, who is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. It’s a one party state led by the communist party. It is a nation that has been so much rigid to change in terms of leadership, for example, the one party system has been considered to be more of dictatorial government, and many activists have gone to the streets to protest, but their outcries are unheard. There are other parties like the Democratic Party of Vietnam, the People’s Democratic Party of Vietnam, and the Alliance Party for Democracy; all these parties have not been recognized by the government. To further fight this dictatorship by a single party, there are proposals to change the name of the country from Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This was the name that was adopted after the unification of South and North Vietnam, to symbolize the transformation to socialism, marked by a better and well organized economy and agricultural production. The communist party had survived for a long time, due to a legacy owed to the first president, Ho Chi Minh. However, the party was under pressure to undergo transformation, in order to survive the transformation from a revolutionary system to a ruling party (Stratfor Global Intelligence, 2013). The judicial system adopted is in the form of a civil law system, and according to the CIA fact book (2013); it has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration and is not a member of the International Criminal Court. The highest court is the Supreme people’s court headed by the chief justice. The chief justice is appointed by the national assembly upon recommendation by the president. This shows that its judicial system is still in jeopardy, because it lacks the protection of international courts, and the procedure of judicial appointments lacks transparency because the president may be biased. The whole judicial system should undergo transformation. 1. Elections The President is elected by the national assembly from among its members; it’s a five year term. The president appoints the prime minister from the national assembly, who in turn appoints his deputy. Both the presidential and prime ministerial appointments are approved by the national assembly (The World Fact Book, 2013). 2. Democracy Vietnam is a communist led country, which does not regard democracy. As a one party state, total loyalty to the president and the state is expected; any opposition is termed illegal and considered to be against the law. Any individual, institution, or organization found to be challenging the government policies is sentenced. According to the Amnesty International, there was a pro-democracy activist who was formerly an official of the communist party, and had attempted to challenge the government (2011). As a result, he earned an eight year jail term. Another convict was Vi Duc Hoi, who had spread anti government propaganda and as a result, was jailed for five years (Amnesty International, 2011). This arrest added up to about 30 prisoners of justice serving a long term imprisonment. Those convicted further underwent harsh treatment while serving their jail terms; one of them, Le Quoc Quan, was denied visits by his family (Human Rights Watch, 2013). Another victim, a catholic priest was released on humanitarian grounds and for a short period of time, so as to have some medication. This was despite the requests by international communities and human rights activists for the victim to be released permanently. He had suffered from paralysis due to stroke and had brain tumor. The state of Vietnam owns a media, whose broadcasts are in favor of the government. It leaves out many issues concerning religious freedom, political multi parties, human, and civil rights. These are indications of the suffering the Vietnamese undergo, while articulating for democracy in the country. The government mainly targets human rights activists, religious leaders, and bloggers. Corruption Corruption is a vice that has enormously developed in Vietnam, to the point that it has been acknowledged by one of the communist leaders, who termed it as a threat to the way of survival. According to the Mydans (2006), corruption in Vietnam began with match bets, where various people and betting institutions held bets on matches, one of the main scandals being a bet on a match between two great English clubs; Manchester united and Arsenal. It grew steadily and is now at a worst scenario. Although the government has shown some signs of effort to fight this irregularity, it is constantly slowed down by the fact that some of the top ranked officials in the government are participants, and they enjoy the amnesty. The major risk is that it has now threatened both foreign and local investors, who are scared about their investments. Several measures have been imposed, but the challenge is the rigid government officials who don’t implement the resolutions. Regardless of this, there seems to be success at the end of the tunnel. According to the report in the survey which was carried out by the National Political and Publishing House Hanoi, World Bank (2013), it shows that the fight against corruption has been well since the adoption of the anticorruption law in 2005; the report shows that compared to 2005, by 2012, the economy had grown by 50%. This has been attributed to the decline in corruption cases. Ethnic and Religious Composition People living in Vietnam are referred to as the Vietnamese. The major ethnic tribes found are about 54, the largest being the Kinh ethnic tribe with 85.7%; this is according to the census carried out in 2009(World Fact Book, 2013). The official language is Vietnamese, while the second favored language is English. Other foreign languages present are French, Chinese, Japanese and Khmer. These foreign languages were due to colonialism. The major religion is Buddhism ranked at about 7%. Others are catholic, Hao Hao, Cao Dai, Muslims, and protestants. The largest population is made up of non believers, and is ranked at 87% according to census held in 1999. The total population is about 93 million people, majority being the youthful group. There are minimal ethnical conflicts because almost the whole country is made up of one community. However, there have been reported cases of religious conflicts. According to the New York Times, there was persecution of Christians, small churches were closed and people were forced to renounce their Christianity, while worshippers were also arrested (Mydans, 2013). The government had termed such religions as unlawful and that they were the cause of the unrest in the country. After criticism, the government allowed the practice, but upon registration. Economy The report given by World Bank in 2002 indicated that the economy of Vietnam continued to grow, the major economic sectors here are; agriculture and livestock, forestry, fisheries, and exports, as well as state owned enterprises (World Bank, 2002). Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in January 2007, and it has been transforming steadily from a centrally planned economy, to a better modernized economy with its leaders showing some commitment. Other sectors that have boomed the economy are trade, private investors, and banking. The government has also encouraged foreign and domestic investors (World Bank, 2002). This economic growth is very encouraging and has all indication that indeed, the country that was once doomed in abject poverty has its economy appreciating. Difficulties Encountered The economic growth of Vietnam was affected by deceleration of world GDP, since almost half of its GDP came from exports. This was a major setback because most of its trading partners were affected by this crisis. Vietnam depended on these countries as its foreign investors. Another challenge to the economy is the unstable prices in the foreign exports; this in turn affects the value of Vietnam Dong, which drops compared to the US dollars. In addition to this, there is the issue of corruption; it’s the biggest enemy to any development. The good thing here is that the Vietnam government has accepted the challenge and is in the process of reforming. Economic Opportunities The Vietnam government has high chances of growing economically; it has a lot of in effectively explored opportunities, for example, reforming government enterprises. State owned enterprises are the major sectors that need improvement and reforms, so as to improve the economy, and the organization should conform to the international standards. Another reform in this sector is the selling of shares to non-state share holders so as to get income (World Bank, 2002). Strengthening of the banking system; the government of Vietnam has to maximize the operation of its banking by enacting systems of regulating the banking industry. The restructuring of the banking system will ensure enlistment of domestic resources, as well as improvement of fund allocation. Vietnam had a poor start in terms of development. This is majorly attributed to the lack of support by its colonial master, and it had to struggle for long even after the independence. The leadership was marred with dictatorship; this system could have been adopted by those in authority because of the lives they had lived under and after the colonial powers. Other reasons could also be that the leaders might have preferred this system, so as to give full protection to the country; however, this could no longer last. The country is in the verge of economic escalation and is undergoing a lot of transformation; the leaders also want to appease the international community so as to gain more favors and recognition. Therefore, Vietnam is a growing nation and will soon be competing with the super powers. Reference List Amnesty International. (2011). Viet Nam. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/viet-nam/report-2011 Bradley, M. P. & Young, M. B. (Eds.). (2008) Making Sense of the Vietnams Wars: Local, National and Transnational Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press, USA. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). n.d. East & South East Asia: Vietnam. Retrieved July 16, 2013 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vm.html Human Rights Watch. (2013). Vietnam: Drop Charges Against Le Quoc Quan. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/07/vietnam-drop-charges-against-le-quoc-quan Mydans, S. (2006). Vietnam's Deep-Rooted Corruption Threatens Development. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/world/asia/07vietnam.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1 Mydans, S. (2013). Religious Conflicts: Vietnam Persecutes Christian Minority. New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/01/world/asia/01vietnam.html?_r=0 Stratfor Global Intelligence. (2013). Vietnam: Could A Name Change Signal A Party Renewal? Part1. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/vietnam-could-name-change-signal-party-renewal-part-1 World Bank. (2002). Vietnam Economic Monitor. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPHALFYEARLYUPDATE/Resources/550192-1101734232152/vietnam.pdf World Bank. (2010). Vietnam Green House Gas Mitigation, Agriculture and Forestry Factors. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/11/24/000333038_20101124021550/Rendered/PDF/580250BRI0P1101estry0sector0june029.pdf- World Fact Book. (2013).Vietnam. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vm.html Read More