Changing Political Economy of Vietnam The Case of Ho Chi Minh City

This book explores the way in which the state has become commercialised under reform as party and government officials have gone into business and considers the impact that this has had on politics within Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The book charts the way in which power has been decentralised to the lower levels of the party-state but argues that the central state retains significant power. These issues are explored through a variety of case studies including the implementation of different reform policies, struggles over political and business activity, and the prosecution of two major corruption cases. Particular emphasis is placed on piecing together the myriad of informal practices which dominate business and political life in Vietnam.

1. From Plan to Market: The Logic of Decentralisation2. In Business: The Hollowing Out of The State Sector3. Patterns of Circulation: Democratic Centralism Under Strain4. Institutional Conflict: The City, The Centre and The Lower Levels5. The Politics of Economic Decentralisation: The Tamexco and Minh Phung-Epco Cases6. Rethinking Reform: Property Rights and The Dynamics of Change

Martin Gainsborough is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Warwick