Vietnam’s Era of ‘National Rise’: Great Expectations
Phan Xuan Dung
To Lam, Vietnam’s General Secretary, intends to usher his country into a new period of “national rise”. But the accelerated nature of his goal will be challenging.

Phan Xuan Dung
To Lam, Vietnam’s General Secretary, intends to usher his country into a new period of “national rise”. But the accelerated nature of his goal will be challenging.
Le Hong Hiep
Truong My Lan's death sentence for gross embezzlement sends a chilling warning, but Vietnam needs to address the banking sector’s root problems of cross-ownership and corrupt lending practices.
Dien Nguyen An Luong
Vietnam is enforcing strict censorship on TikTok to protect leaders’ reputations while exploiting the platform to amplify its narrative. Amplifying pro-leader narratives this way also carries risks.
Outlook 2025
Ian Storey
The prognosis for tensions in the South China Sea dispute this year is pretty straightforward: what has been and is will continue to be so, and perhaps even worse.
2024 Top 10
Le Hong Hiep|Nguyen Khac Giang
The steadfast leadership of Vietnam’s General Secretary has ironically created a potential leadership vacuum, as succession planning has not been one of his strong suits, unlike anti-corruption and other stellar achievements.
2024 Top 10
Le Hong Hiep
Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong will be replaced. The primary task of the country’s leaders now is to find his replacement and steady the keel.
Nguyen Khac Giang
Today, Vietnam is arguably better positioned, both financially and geopolitically, to move forward with the North-South High Speed Rail project. However, the feasibility of this ambitious megaproject hinges on a careful cost-benefit analysis, which is fraught with uncertainty.
Nguyen Khac Giang|Dien Nguyen An Luong
As George Orwell noted in his seminal 1972 essay, "Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban". As our authors argue, Vietnam’s state plan to reform its media could create more problems than it solves.
Pham Vu Thieu Quang
Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal, which aims to connect Phnom Penh to the Gulf of Thailand, has sparked regional concerns, particularly from Vietnam, due to potential environmental impacts and geopolitical implications.
Nguyen Khac Giang|Sophal Ear
Fulcrum editor Julia Lau discusses the complex issue of Cambodia-Vietnam relations in light of their new leadership. One issue examined is Cambodia's recent withdrawal from the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area and what it means for the region.