A uniquely comprehensive overview of a fascinating and rapidly changing country, dealing with the politics, economics, society and foreign policy of Vietnam from the Doi Moi reforms of market socialism in 1986 to the present day. Drawing on fieldwork and analysis by an international team of specialists this book covers all aspects of contemporary Vietnam including recent history, the political economy, the reform process, education, health, labour market, foreign direct investment and foreign policy. The contributors show how the blurring of old and new pressures and traditions within Vietnam requires a more complex analysis of the country than might initially be assumed.

List of figures, tables and boxesPreface and AcknowledgementsList of AbbreviationsContributorsInformation boxes on Vietnam1. Introduction Duncan McCargoPolitics2. State, Party and Political Change in Vietnam Chris Dixon3. Rethinking the History of the Vietnamese Communist Party Sophie Quinn-Judge4. Key Issues in the Political Economy of post doi moi Vietnam Martin Gainsborough5. Politics in Mountain Communes: Exploring Vietnamese Grassroots Democracy Claudia ZingerliEconomy6. Growth and Reform since the Eighth Party Congress Ari Kokko7. The Social Challenges of Reform: Restructuring State Owned Enterprises in Vietnam Gerard Clarke8. Vietnam's Rural Transformations: Information, Knowledge and Diversification Tran Thi Thu TrangSociety9. Rethinking Vietnam's Mass Education and Health Systems Jonathan D. London10. Centralism: The Dilemma of Educational Reform in Vietnam Doan Hue Dung11. An Emerging Civil Society? Local Associations working on HIV/AIDS Marie-Eve Blanc12. Pursuing Success in Present Day Vietnam: Young Graduates in Hanoi Phuong An NguyenForeign Relations13. Rethinking Foreign Investment in Vietnam: Fuzzy Figures and Sentiment Swings Nick Freeman and Curt Nestor14. Recent Changes in Vietnam's Foreign Policy: Implications for Vietnam-ASEAN relations Jörn Dosch and Ta Minh TuanBibliographyIndex