ARTICLES

4 Apr 2025

How Will Vietnam Deal With President Trump’s Shocking Tariffs?

Le Hong Hiep

Faced with 46 per cent US tariffs, Vietnam is unlikely to retaliate in kind. It is likely that Hanoi would avoid confrontation and lean on diplomacy instead.

21 Feb 2025

Trump’s Aid Freeze Could Disrupt Progress in US-Vietnam Reconciliation

Phan Xuan Dung

Suspending USAID programmes risks undermining years of work building trust between the former enemies and helping victims of the Vietnam War.

U.S.-Vietnam Relations US Vietnam Vietnamese Politics

17 Feb 2025

To Lam’s Pragmatic Pitch to Vietnam’s Youth: Economic Prosperity, Political Control

Dien Nguyen An Luong

Compared to their Southeast Asian peers, Vietnamese youth are more economically optimistic but politically disengaged. These attitudes concur with pragmatism of the country’s top leader To Lam, which focuses on material prosperity while calibrating civic freedoms to regime imperatives.

Vietnam Vietnamese Demography Vietnamese Politics

31 Jan 2025

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.

Vietnam Vietnam Elections Vietnamese Politics

6 Jan 2025

Will the “Chronic Disease” of Vietnam’s Private Banks Ever Be Treated?

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.

Vietnam Vietnamese Economy Vietnamese Politics

27 Dec 2024

2024 Top 10

Nguyen Phu Trong’s Incomplete Legacy in Vietnam

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 Vietnam Vietnamese Politics

26 Dec 2024

2024 Top 10

Two Presidents Ousted in One Year: What Lies Ahead for Vietnam’s Political Outlook?

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.

2024 Top 10 Anti-Corruption Vietnam Vietnamese Politics

19 Dec 2024

The Political Economy of Vietnam’s North-South High-Speed Rail Project

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.

Vietnam Vietnamese Economy Vietnamese Politics

23 Sep 2024

Vietnam’s New Helmsman: What to Expect from To Lam?

Nguyen Khac Giang

Vietnam has a younger, more energetic leader who appears to be covering all bases, domestic and international. What might the future hold for him and his country?

Communist Party of Vietnam Vietnam Vietnamese Politics

13 Sep 2024

Backlash Against Fulbright University Vietnam: Are Propagandists Barking Up the Wrong Tree?

Dien Nguyen An Luong

Raising the spectre of foreign influence against young Vietnamese students out of fear that they might be inspired by recent street protests in other countries to topple the regime might do more harm than good.

Education Vietnam Vietnamese Politics