Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, center, at the closing ceremony of the 13th party congress in Hanoi, Feb. 1, 2021 (AP photo by Minh Hoang).
Vietnam Is on a Roll, but Will the Party Hold It Back?
David Brown Monday, March 1, 2021
2020 was the year that Vietnam gained widespread recognition as a substantial player in the global economy and as a model “developmental state.”
The world noticed because Vietnam effectively contained COVID-19 even while the disease wreaked havoc on the populations and economies of much wealthier nations. International media outlets normally pay Vietnam scant attention; the war that ravaged it ended nearly half a century ago, and the one-party regime in Hanoi discourages investigative reporting. However, its strikingly successful mobilization against the pandemic has prompted a spate of essays hailing Vietnam’s “breakout moment.” ...