Politics in Contemporary Vietnam

Vietnam’s political development has entered an extraordinary, if indeterminate,phase. Politics in Vietnam, long a predictable affair, aretoday characterized by a sense of uncertainty and possibility that has noprecedent in the country’s postwar history. Changes are apparent on avariety of levels. At the pinnacle of state power, competition among elitemembers of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has produced noclear victor, lending to a sense of acute political gridlock. The degree ofdissensus was laid bare in October of 2012, when the entire Politburo wassubjected to unprecedented criticism by the Party Central Committee. Itwas evident again in early 2013, when Vietnam saw a bitter and uncharacteristicallypublic proxy struggle for control over the party Politburo.Nor have evolutionary processes been limited to the sphere of elite politics.Recent changes in Vietnam’s political culture are a case in point.Unfiltered political speech and contentious politics, only recently a rarityin Vietnam, have swiftly become commonplace. While the art of politicalcommentary, dormant for decades, has seen a spirited revival. Underlyingall of these political developments is a set of tensions and contradictionswithin Vietnam’s political economy itself. While the country’s economyretains considerable potential, two decades of rapid economic growthhas given way to a flagging economic performance. Today in Vietnamthere is a sense that economic mismanagement, corruption, skills andinfrastructure bottlenecks, and sheer incompetence are conspiring todim the country’s prospects. Intensifying social inequalities and inequitieshave contributed to political restlessness. Nor, however, shouldpolitical discontinuties be exaggerated. In late 2013 Vietnam’s NationalAssembly edorsed a revised constitution that ignored calls for reform thathave emerged both within and outside the Party. While Vietnamese aretaking a greater interest in politics, organized dissent is severely repressed.