Publications

EU CO-FUNDED PROJECT "PROMOTING PEOPLES' PARTICIPATION AND GOVERNANCE IN VIETNAMESE CITIES THROUGH ACVN" COMPLETED

From February 2009 to October 2011 the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in Vietnam in cooperation with the Association of Vietnamese Cities (ACVN) has implemented the project "Promoting people’s participation and governance in Vietnamese cities through the Association of Cities of Vietnam".

Vietnam vs. China

Konfliktverschärfung im Südchinesischen Meer

Seit Beginn dieses Jahres haben sich die territorialen Auseinandersetzungen zwischen China, Vietnam und den Philippinen um die im Südchinesischen Meer gelegene Spratly-Inselgruppe zugespitzt. Im Mai dieses Jahres durchtrennte ein chinesisches Patrouillenboot ein Kabel eines vietnamesischen Vermessungsschiffes. Ein nahezu identischer Vorfall geschah im Juni 2011. Auch zwischen den Philippinen und China kam es zu direkter Konfrontation . Eine endgültige Lösung des Konfliktes ist vorerst nicht in Sicht.

Vietnams neue Regierung: Stagnation statt Wandel

Im August wurde Premierminister Nguyen Tan Dung offiziell von der Nationalversammlung für eine zweite Amtsperiode bestätigt. Seine Wiederwahl und das neue Kabinett sind ein deutliches Signal für Kontinuität. Allein in der Wirtschaftspolitik sind leichte Korrekturen zu erwarten. Die Einschränkung politischer Freiheiten aber wird fortbestehen.

Unterzeichnung des Memorendum of Understanding

Am 03.06.2011 fand die Lizenzübergabe an das KAS Auslandsbüro Vietnam im Rahmen einer feierlichen Übergabe zwischen Herrn Amos R. Helms, Leiter des KAS-Büros Vietnam, und Herrn Nguyen Ngoe Hung, Vize-Generaldirektor der PACCOM, statt. Mit der Unterzeichnung des Memorandums of Understanding zwischen der KAS und der PACCOM sichert sich die Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung die Fortführung ihrer langjährigen, erfolgreichen Zusammenarbeit mit Vietnamesischen Partnern für die nächsten drei Jahre.

Der XI. Parteitag der Kommunistischen Partei Vietnams (KPV)

Vom 11. bis 19. Januar 2011 tagte die Kommunistische Partei Vietnams (KPV) zum elften Mal seit ihrer Gründung und entschied über die künftigen Leitlinien und Ziele der Partei sowie über die Personalbesetzung der wichtigsten Positionen im Staat. In der Sozialistischen Republik Vietnam (SRV) ist die KPV nach wie vor die einzige zugelassene Partei. Auf dem nur alle fünf Jahre stattfindenden Parteitag versammelten sich rund 1400 Delegierte. Neben der Verabschiedung der politischen Ziele für die nächsten fünf Jahre wurden Wahlen für das Zentralkomitee (ZK) und das Politbüro abgehalten.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới 2010

Veranstaltungskalender 2010

2010 wird ein ereignisreiches Jahr für Vietnam und Deutschland. Vietnam hat den Vorsitz der ASEAN inne, die Stadt Hanoi wird sein 1000-jähriges Bestehen gebührend feiern. Zum 35-jährigen Jubiläums der Aufnahme diplomatischer Beziehungen zwischen Deutschland und Vietnam steht 2010 unter dem Motto „Deutschland in Vietnam“. Vielfältige Veranstaltungsangebote werden stattfinden. Die KAS Vietnam wird sich außerdem mit einer aussagekräftigen Veranstaltung zum Thema Soziale Marktwirtschaft einbringen.

Assessment Study Results

People's Participation and Local Governance - Challenges and Opportunities for Municipalities

During the projects assessment activities a team of one international expert and two national experts visited 04 pilot cities to conduct interviews with city officials and civil servants on the same topics addressed to the citizens in the opinion poll to allow a more balanced perspective and corrective to the views of the citizens. The Assessment report is now accessible for download.

Opinion Poll Results

People's Opinion on Grassroots Democracy, Communication and Administrative Service Delivery

This publication is the result of a fieldtrip organised in the framework of the EU funded KAS ACVN project on People's Participation and Governance in Vietnamese Cities. An expert team of two national experts with support of the project team and the local authorities in 04 pilot cities conducted this survey. 3000 citizens have been interviewed and given feedback on the quality of administrative service delivery, access to information and the communication policy of the city vis-a-vis their citizens as well as their satisfaction with the implementation of the Grassroots Democracy Ordinance.

Decentralisation, Administrative Reform, Strengthening the Communal Self-Administration in Vietnam

The decentralization and democratization of political structures, a modernization and reform of the administration as well as strengthening the communal self-administration are important objectives and programs for the international co-operation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

WHAT ROLE CAN LOCAL NGOS PLAY TO SUPPORT GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM?

Niklas Aschhoff - A field study on local democracy and civil society in Vietnam

Vietnam develops strongly in economic terms but much less so democratically. Thus, the issues of this study, civil society and local-level democracy still play a relatively small but increasing role in this Southeast Asian country. It is important to consider that the Western ideas of civil society and democracy are not identical with those we find in Vietnam. The Communist central government and the big importance of Confucian values influence the values of social life. If we take this into account, we can seriously speak of progress in Vietnam. But still there are considerable deficits in both fields. Whereas the big mass organisations still have an enormous impact, real NGOs are rare and restricted in their action by the state. However, NGOs have more freedoms than before.NGOs moreover are key actors in terms of democratisation. By cooperating with the state as well as the local population they serve as a medium for both. They are seen as useful service providers and help to introduce government policies. The same legal bases on civil society organisations as well as on grassroots democracy allow NGOs to implement successfully efforts for more democracy. NGOs are mostly seen as more effective than government bodies by the people.Despite some progress of grassroots democracy – also due to the work of civil society groups – strong improvements in the general state of democracy will have to follow in the next decades. Still, there are several approaches for criticism. However, the Vietnamese government respects the desires of the people and implements policies according to these general wishes. The policies admitting more opportunities for participation on the local level can be seen as one example for the government’s desire to be perceived as a representative of the people.The successful implementation of the decrees on grassroots democracy is very often hindered by remaining old structures and the unwillingness of local politicians. Theory and reality differ considerably in this case. However, local NGOs seem to be able to improve the implementation and to be key actors for grassroots democracy in Vietnam. Civil society and democracy are two variables depending on each other.This study analyses civil society and grassroots democracy in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Although these issues might also be addressed separately, there are good reasons to have a look at them in connection. This particularly makes sense for the case of Vietnam as here both civil society and local-level democracy are based on the same legal bases and are two variables influencing each other.Vietnam still is one of the poorest countries in the world. Yet, the country has expanded heavily in economic terms since the policies of economic opening in 1986. In the field of democratisation, however, only little and very slow progress has been achieved yet. I found it very interesting to see which progress is made in this field in a country concentrating in economic development and through which measures. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) as a political foundation involved in development assistance seemed to be an appropriate organisation as the issues of my interest are among the topics on their agenda in Vietnam. The KAS does not implement projects directly in Vietnam but supports and cooperates with local Vietnamese partners. One of the major advantages that is approved in nearly every conversation definitely is the fact that Vietnamese actors are much better aware of the local customs, know the language and thus are much easier accepted by the affected people. Concerning the topic of local democracy, one of the KAS’ partners is the Center for Rural Progress (CRP). I therefore had a special focus on this local NGO and their current project on the island of Cat Ba.