July 2013

Civic Organizations in Vietnam’s One-Party State: Supporters of Authoritarian Rule?

Soldiers in green uniforms with bayonets, courtesy Dr Snafu/flickr

Vietnamese army soldiers

This article examines authoritarian power and rule in Vietnam. The empirical findings in this article indicate that authoritarian dispositions and practices are prevalent in all types of Vietnamese civic organizations, at least as far as internal decision-making processes are concerned. Old as well as new ideas of the state and state traditions have a strong impact on the patterns of authoritarianism found in Vietnamese civic organizations. From the empirical findings, it might be concluded that Vietnamese civic organizations support authoritarian rule, the extent of such support, however, varies. This article offers insights into how associations’ activities stabilize rules, how the associated legitimizing effects can be understood in theoretical terms, and what would be a suitable operationalization of the concepts.

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