Vietnam – A general study of the triangulation toward change: social movements, economic development, and political changeover. An overview on the Vietnamese political development between internal movements and external constraints

Abstract

The 1986 Economic Reform (Doi Moi) can be considered a watershed in Vietnamese history. The resulting development has also had a notable impact on society, where a more solid economic base has enabled the development of the middle class, a necessary condition for the growth of civil society. While the political system still defends a collectivist model, economic liberalism is bringing the Vietnamese people closer to a growing form of individualism. This thesis aims to study the political change taking place in Vietnam. The analysis was based on a thorough systematic review, including the main articles and data on the topic. The analytic perspective adopted was that of polyarchy, which acted as a lens subsequently used to answer two questions. First: What are the points of contact between economic development, political liberalization, and civil society? And second: What political factors lead to the consideration of Vietnam as a polyarchy? Finally, through a consideration of the internal and external contexts in which the country is situated, the thesis proposes a partial re-evaluation of the Vietnamese one-party model, making proposals for future trends in civil society and government behaviour.