Vietnam's Communist Revolution
The Power and Limits of Ideology

This book traces the Vietnamese communist worldview throughout their revolution, and offers a new explanation for the tragedy of Vietnam.

Tuong Vu (Author)

9781316607909, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 December 2016

352 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.53 kg

'Vietnam's Communist Revolution is a path-breaking book in several respects. It is the first study in over a generation to cover the entire century-long history of the Vietnamese communist party from its inception after World War I until the present. Its use of vernacular-language primary documents to tell this important tale is unrivaled. Moreover, it deploys this rich source base to undermine an ossified, politicized conventional wisdom about Vietnamese communism that has endured since the War era. And it suggests a persuasive alternative. This book is a game changer in multiple fields.' Peter Zinoman, University of California, Berkeley

By tracing the evolving worldview of Vietnamese communists over 80 years as they led Vietnam through wars, social revolution, and peaceful development, this book shows the depth and resilience of their commitment to the communist utopia in their foreign policy. Unearthing new material from Vietnamese archives and publications, this book challenges the conventional scholarship and the popular image of the Vietnamese revolution and the Vietnam War as being driven solely by patriotic inspirations. The revolution not only saw successes in defeating foreign intervention, but also failures in bringing peace and development to Vietnam. This was, and is, the real tragedy of Vietnam. Spanning the entire history of the Vietnamese revolution and its aftermath, this book examines its leaders' early rise to power, the tumult of three decades of war with France, the US, and China, and the stubborn legacies left behind which remain in Vietnam today.

Introduction. The Vietnamese Revolution in world history
1. Revolutionary paths through the mind, 1917–30
2. The consolidation of a Leninist vision, 1931–40
3. On the frontline of the Cold War, 1940–51
4. Patriotism in the service of socialism, 1953–60
5. From idealistic to realistic internationalism, 1957–63
6. The rise of vanguard internationalism, 1964–75
7. From revolutionary vanguard to Soviet client, 1976–9
8. The crisis and death of utopia, 1980–91
9. Legacies of ideology, 1990–2010
Epilogue
Appendix 1. Ho Chi Minh's letter to Stalin, October 14, 1950
Appendix 2. Anti-American articles written by Ho Chi Minh, 1951–5
Appendix 3. Methodology and sources.

Subject Areas: Marxism & Communism [JPFC], Vietnam War [HBWS2], Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions [HBTV], Asian history [HBJF]