Western observers have long considered communism to be synonymous with Vietnam’s modern historical experience. Eager to make sense of the North Vietnamese victory in the Vietnam War, scholars and journalists have spilled much ink on the history of Vietnamese communists. But this preoccupation has obscured the diversity of ideas and experiences that defined Vietnam in the twentieth century, in which communism represented just one of many tendencies. Building a Republican Nation in Vietnam, 1920–1963, posits that republicanism shaped modern Vietnam no less profoundly than communism....
Western observers have long considered communism to be synonymous with Vietnam’s modern historical experience. Eager to make sense of the North Viet...
English-language scholarship all too often dismisses South Vietnam as an American creation, a product of US imperialism. Republican Vietnam boldly upends this depiction, exposing a diverse and dynamic portrait of the Second Republic. In twelve essays, each based on original archival research, the volume brings to life the Second Republic in all its complexities, displaying how politicians, students, educators, publishers, journalists, musicians, religious leaders, businessmen, and ordinary citizens built a highly intricate society—with dazzling entrepreneurial zeal, an outspoken press,...
English-language scholarship all too often dismisses South Vietnam as an American creation, a product of US imperialism. Republican Vietnam boldly upe...
