The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam, 2nd Edition by William J. Duiker - Book Report/Review Example

The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam, 2nd Edition by William J. Duiker The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam is a 1996 book written by William Duiker1. This is a new edition by William Duiker, and it is an updated revision of an analysis of the Communist movement in Vietnam. This book begins with the formation of this movement in the periods of 1930s, to the various dilemmas that the leadership of Vietnam faced during the post-Cold war periods. This work by William Duiker derives its information from various primary materials that talk about Vietnam, and from his personal research concerning the situation in Vietnam during this period in time. The main sources of information that Duiker relies on are documentaries, historical books on Vietnam, and newspaper articles2. This book by Duiker (1996) is very important in understanding the political process of Vietnam during the periods of the 20th century. It is important to denote that Vietnam is an East Asian Nation, which gained its independence from imperial China in the AD 1938. This country has faced a variety of wars, the first being with Japan in 1940s, then against the French in 1954. After this war, Vietnam was divided into two divisions, the North and the South, each having a different ideological principle. The North supported communism, while the South supported capitalism. After a bitter civil war between these two sides, the North emerged victorious in 1975, and declared communalism as the official ideology of Vietnam. William Duiker (1996) traces the evolution of this ideological principle of Communism in Vietnam, highlighting very important historical events that shaped the evolution of communalism in Vietnam. William Duiker is very qualified to give information concerning Vietnam. This is because he once served as a Foreign Service Officer for United States, and he is a professor of History at the University of Penn State. The main area of expertise of William Duiker is on the history and affairs of East Asia nations. While working for the United States Foreign Service, William Duiker spent so many years in Vietnam, and he was at once caught in the 1970s civil war, whereby he got an injury, leaving him with a partial hearing ability of one ear. He also published a biography of Ho Chi Minh, a famous leader in Vietnam. Based on this analysis of William Duiker, we can denote that the information he provides in this book is very reliable, and accurate. This is because he acts on a point of knowledge, having experienced the Vietnamese ways of lives, having an educational qualification on the history of East Asian nations, and by relying on other relevant sources that talk about the Vietnamese communism system. This book by William Duiker (1996) has 13 chapters, each talking about different aspects of Vietnam. For example, in Chapter 1, Duiker introduces to us the reasons as to why he decided to write this book. Duiker was motivated by the debate that was going on in Washington as to the reasons as to why the United States, and its allies, the South Vietnamese lost the war in Vietnam3. The debate was concentrated on the failures of Washington, instead of focusing on what was happening in Vietnam, especially in the provinces of Saigon and Hanoi. In Duikers perspective, the North Vietnamese were well organized, disciplined, and their leadership had a more dedication. This is when they were compared to the American allies of the South Vietnamese army, who did not show a lot of dedication to their cause, and the war. Chapter 2 of this book gives an explanation of the rise of the Vietnamese revolutionary movement. This chapter covers the periods of between the 1900 to the 1930s, and it begins by talking about Ho Chi Minh and his revolutionary ideas. From this chapter, Duiker denotes that Ho Chi Minh was influenced by the communist principles of Leninism. The main reason as to why Ho Chi Minh became a Leninist is because it gave him the ideas of the best method of liberating Vietnam from the occupation and colonialism of the French. Chapter 3 of this book is referred to as Out of Ashes, and it covers the periods of between 1931 to the period of 1941. This chapter traces the genesis of the Vietnamese rebellion against France, and the role of the Soviet Union in influencing the Vietnamese leaders and people. Chapter 4 is referred to as the Prelude to Revolt, and it covers the periods of 1941, to the periods of 1945. This chapter talks about the Japanese activities in South East Asia, and how its activities affected the Vietnamese people, and the interests of the French within the region. Chapter five of this book by Duiker is referred to as the Days of August, and it talks about the Vietnamese revolution that began in August, and the establishment of the revolution committees that provided guidance and leadership on how the revolution should take place4. This revolution was against the activities of Japan in Vietnam, and South East Asia. Chapter 6 talks about the peace negotiations between the Vietnamese and the Japanese, while Chapter 7 talks about the war that existed between the Vietnamese, and the French. In chapter 8, Duiker talks about the peace process after the war with the French, and the emergence of two divisions in Vietnam, namely, the South and the North Vietnam. These divisions had different ideologies, with the South supporting capitalism, and the North supporting communalism. Chapter 9 talks about the escalation of this conflict, while Chapter 10 of this book talks about the civil war that emerged, and the role of world powers such as the United States and The Soviet Union in this conflict. Chapter 11 of this book talks about the actual war, and the negations that ensured. While chapter 12 talks about the end to the conflict between the North and the South Vietnam. The last chapters of this book, chapter 13 is referred to as Prospect and Retrospect. It talks about the establishment of communism as the official Vietnamese ideology, and the challenges and opportunities that the new regime faced. By reading this book, it makes it possible to understand the foreign relations of Vietnam, its economic and ideological policies. Duiker manages to effectively talk about communism in Vietnam, and the emergence of the one party political system, after the Unification of Vietnam in 1975. It is important to denote that the major powers of the world played a significant role in the conflict in Vietnam, each supporting different sides. Duiker manages to effectively explain this scenario, and the reasons as to why the two major powers during this era, supporting different sides. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union, and this is because it was practicing communalism, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States, and this is because it was practicing capitalism5. On this basis, this civil war can be interpreted as a proxy war of the Soviet Union and the United States, each seeking to advance their ideologies. It is important to denote that the main events covered in this book occurred before, during and after the Second World War. After the Second World War, two major powers emerged, that is the United States, and the Soviet Union. This led to another ideological war that emerged, referred to as the cold war. In explaining the involvement of these major powers in Vietnam, Duiker manages to explain this concept of cold war, and why the internal affairs of Vietnam were of critical importance to the United States, and The Soviet Union. My favorite chapter in this book is chapter 2. This chapter introduces us to Ho Chi Minh, and how he was influenced by the principles of Leninism. It is important to denote that Ho Chi Minh played a great role in influencing the rise of communism in Vietnam6. Of great importance to me, in this chapter is the formation of the Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam. This movement was a very radical organization that advocated for the political rights of the people of Vietnam7. Ho Chi Minh formed this organization in 1925, and it played a great role as a forerunner of communism in Vietnam. This organization is considered as the first organization to support Marxism in Indochina, and it had the support of the Chinese Communist Party. The youth league played a great role in training and educating a large number of Leninist-Marxist revolutionaries, and therefore preparing them for a more prominent leadership role within the Communist Party of Vietnam8. These leaders also played a great role in leading the revolutionary movements in Vietnam. On this basis, it is very difficult to understand communism in Vietnam, without first understanding the formation and role of the revolutionary youth league of Vietnam. In as much as chapter 2 is my favorite, Chapter 7 also provides some information that is very important. This chapter specifically talks about the war between the French, and the Vietminh. Duiker manages to effectively describe this conflict. For example, the manner in which Duiker describes the Dien Bien Phu war makes it possible to visualize the inefficiencies of the French army, against the Vietminh. It is important to denote that by then, the Vietminh was a guerilla movement, and defeating a well organized and supplied army was a great achievement for the revolutionaries. Another notable strength for this book is the manner in which Duiker describes the conflict and the situation between North and South Vietnam9. Duiker manages to effectively give the genesis of this conflict from chapter 8 of the book, up to the last chapter 12 of the book. This is after the conclusion of the civil war, that pitted North against South Vietnam. To my own opinion, this conflict between North and South Vietnam is the main theme that Duiker wanted to talk about in this book. When reading the introduction of this book, it is possible to denote that the main reason of writing this book by Duiker is to highlight the organized manner in which the leadership of North Vietnam. This is during this revolution. It is this organization that enabled them to win the war against South Vietnam, therefore leading to the unification of Vietnam, under the political ideology of communism. In Duikers perspective, the allies of United States were not prepared enough for the war, and they depended heavily on the provisions of the United States10. This is as opposed to the people of North Vietnam, who in as much as they were getting provisions from the Soviet Union, they managed to focus on this war, with the main intention of winning. On this basis, Duiker denotes that the policies of Washington were not responsible for the defeat of the American allies in Vietnam, but the failure of its allies to adequately prepare for the war. However, one major weakness identified in this book is emphasizing so much on the role of Ho Chi Minh in the revolutionary movement. There are other notable revolutionaries such as Tran Phu, who was the secretary general of the Vietnamese Communist Party, and Nguyen Ai Quoec, who was the coordinator of all the activities of the communist party11. On this basis, the rise of communism in Vietnam was not made possible by one person, but by several other people who worked within the Communist party, and the Revolutionary Youth League. It is important to denote that in as much as the country adopted communism after the 1975 war, it struggled to maintain its economy, and feed its people. This forced the country to review some of its political and economic ideologies12. During the 1980s, Vietnam managed to open up its economy to private investors, thus encouraging capitalism. The challenges and opportunities that Vietnam faced after the adoption of communism are all highlighted in Chapter 13 of the book. This chapter is referred to as the prospects and the retrospect. By reading at this book, there are a number of books that support and supplement information contained in it. One such book is referred to as Victorious Insurgencies, the Four Rebellions that shaped the world, which is written by Anthony James Joes, and published in 201013. This book contains a series of revolutions beginning from the Chinese revolution which occurred in 1929, to 1949 to the Afghanistan revolution which led to the end of the Afghanistan Red Empire14. Of specific importance to this book is the information it gives concerning the French-Vietnam war. Anthony James Joes manages to highlight how this war was fought, what why the war was fought, and why the French lost this war. This information is contained in chapter 2 of the book, and Anthony James Joes supports the idea advanced by Duiker that the guerilla fighters of North Vietnam were well organized, and disciplined enough, to engage the French army in an open battle, and win the war. This chapter of the book denotes that it was not only the Americans who died in the war, but also a large number of the members of the French army died in this war. Most information contained in this book, are similar to the information provided by Duiker in his 1996 book. For example, the manner in which Anthony Joes describes the Dien Bien Phu battle is similar to the description given by Duiker. On this note, we can rely on the information contained in the 1996 book by Duiker. However, the major weakness of this book by Anthony James Joes is that it does not go into detail explaining the rise of communism in Vietnam, and the civil war between North and South Vietnam. It only explains the French-Vietminh war. Another book that supports the ideas raised by Duiker is referred to as Rhetoric of Revolt, The Ho Chi Minh Discourse for the Revolution by Peter Decaro, published in 200315. This book highlights the role of Ho Chi Minh in building the momentum for a revolution in Vietnam, and introducing communism in Vietnam. This book also talks about the civil war in Vietnam, pitting the North and South Vietnam, and the factors that made the USSR and the United States to engage in this war. All the information contained in this book, are similar to the information given by Duiker in his book. In conclusion, Duiker manages to prove his thesis that the answers as to why the Americans lost the war in Vietnam, can be found in Vietnam, especially the provinces of Saigon and Hanoi. Duiker manages to explain effectively the various themes in his book by use of examples and real life events that happened. For instance, in explaining the formation of the Youth League, Duiker manages to identify the main leaders of the organization, and sources of its funding. The main theme of this book is communism, and this, Duiker manages to effectively depict in the 13 chapters contained in this book. Virtually, a chapter won’t pass, without Duiker explaining certain principles of communism in relation to Vietnam. On this basis, this book by Duiker is well written, and it provides reliable information in regard to communism in Vietnam. Bibliography: DeCaro, Peter Anthony. Rhetoric of revolt: Ho Chi Minh's discourse for revolution. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003. Duiker, William J.. The communist road to power in Vietnam. 2. ed. Boulder, Colo. [u.a.: Westview Press, 1996. Joes, Anthony James. Victorious insurgencies four rebellions that shaped our world. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2010. Read More