Customer Reviews

Vietnam's Political Process: How education shapes political decision making (Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series)

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I was the Marine and Naval Attache in Vietnam for three years and had a first-hand chance to witness in action what Dr. Lucius has written about it her book. The author is right on the money.

Not much contemporary research of value exists today to help explain why Vietnam's leaders act as they do and how they perceive their national interests, but this book goes a long way towards filling an enormous gap in the literature. The background material, especially that dealing with the education system and its fostering of enduring cultural values that shape mental models of what it means to be Vietnamese are critical for understanding Vietnamese political thinking. This is the kind of stuff McNamara was pining for when he said that we simply did not understand the Vietnamese. Dr. Lucius' work has been a long time coming and will be invaluable to anybody who wants to know why they act as they do and not as we think they should.