Journal Vietnam social sciences – No 6/2019 present the content thought of Vietnamese nationalist party on national issues; Vietnam’s economy overview and assessments of prospects; America’s indo-pacific strategy and its impact on cooperation and development in ASIA; characteristics of population ageing process in Vietnam and issue of caring for the elderly...
Editorial Board Nguyen Quang Thuan, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), Chairman Ngo Van Vu, Vietnam Social Sciences Review, VASS, Acting Editor-in-chief, Vice Chairman Tran Thi An, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Dang Nguyen Anh, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Vu Thanh Tu Anh, Fulbright University Vietnam Salvatore Babones, University of Sydney, Australia Nguyen Thi Phuong Cham, Institute of Cultural Studies, VASS Horim Choi, Pukyong National University, Korea Tran Tho Dat, National Economics University Nguyen Dang Diep, Institute of Literature, VASS Tran Van Doan, National Taiwan University, Chinese Taipei Pham Van Duc, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Institute of Philosophy, VASS Dinh Quang Hai, Institute of History, VASS Nguyen Thi Hien, Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies Nguyen Van Hiep, Institute of Linguistics, VASS Luong Van Hy, University of Toronto, Canada Vu Minh Khuong, National University of Singapore, Singapore Bui Van Liem, Institute of Archaeology, VASS William Leon McBride, Purdue University, USA Mary Byrne McDonnell, Social Science Research Council, USA Nguyen Duc Minh, Institute of State and Law, VASS Nguyen Van Minh, Institute of Anthropology, VASS Pham Quang Minh, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Kenichi Ohno, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan Hiroshi Onishi, Keio University, Japan Peter Cho Phan, Georgetown University, USA Bui Nhat Quang, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Oscar Salemink, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Luca Maria Scarantino, IULM University, Italy Katsumi Shimane, Senshu University, Japan Iwan Gardono Sujatmiko, University of Indonesia, Indonesia William Sweet, St Francis Xavier University, Canada Pawel B Sztabinski, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland Keith Taylor, Cornell University, USA Nguyen Xuan Thang, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics Tran Van Tho, Waseda University, Japan La Thi Thu Thuy, Institute of Psychology, VASS Bui Quang Tuan, Vietnam Institute of Economics, VASS Tu Weiming, Peking University, China VIETNAM SOCIAL SCIENCES JOURNAL OF VIETNAM academy OF SOCIAL SCIENCES No (194) - 2019 ISSN 1013-4328 BIMONTHLY REVIEW CONTENTS Thought of Vietnamese Nationalist Party on National Issues Nguyen Van Khanh Vietnam’s Economy: Overview and Assessments of Prospects 13 Tran Dinh Thien Impacts of ASEAN Economic Community on Integration of Vietnamese Industry 28 Tran Xuan Hiep, Nguyen Huy Hoang America’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Its Impact on Cooperation and Development in Asia 40 Cu Chi Loi Characteristics of Population Ageing Process in Vietnam and Issue of Caring for the Elderly 52 Nguyen Huu Minh A Decade Review of Divorce in Vietnam 69 Tran Thi Minh Thi General Index of 2019 94 Editorial Office: 26, Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: (84) 24 39365704, 24 39363650, 24 39365703 Fax: (84) 24 39363707 Email: tapchikhxh@vnn.vn http://vssr.vass.gov.vn http://www.vjol.info Press Permit No 114/GP-BTTTT issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications on 22 April 2013 Thought of Vietnamese Nationalist Party on National Issues Nguyen Van Khanh1 University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Email: khanhnv@vnu.edu.vn Received on August 2019 Revised on 13 August 2019 Accepted on 20 October 2019 Abstract: Based on the Political Platform and Regulation of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party (VNP), this research paper analyses and clarifies the basic tenets of its political thought in order to answer the question of whether nationalism2 and national consciousness were the basis and the key element in the political thought of this party in the period prior to 1930 or not It also brings to light the differences between the nationalism of the VNP and that of Sun Yat-sen, the founder and supreme leader of the Kuomintang in China Keywords: Vietnamese Nationalist Party, nationalism, national consciousness Subject classification: History Introduction The Vietnamese Nationalist Party was a patriotic and revolutionary organisation, which was founded in Hanoi in 1927 Although, in terms of the social class, most of its members belonged to the petty bourgeoisie, the party represented the interests and ideology of the bourgeoisie How was its view on nationalism? What were the similarities and differences between its nationalism and the patriotism and nationalism of other contemporary political organisations in Vietnam? These are the issues worth studying to clarify their role and contributions to the country's history Opinions on defining and assessment of political ideology of Vietnamese Nationalist Party First of all, it is necessary to take note of some different opinions and views regarding the assessment of the political ideology of VNP, which was one of three major political parties in Vietnam in the 1920s Until now, research on VNP has dealt with various aspects and at different levels of the party‟s policy to achieve national salvation, and its political ideology However, apart from some commonly shared opinions, there are still differences and points of contention in assessing the political views of this party Generally, there exist three types of opinion: Vietnam Social Sciences, No (194) - 2019 The first type contends that the VNP was not a purely nationalist party, but an organisation with socialist leanings Tran Huy Lieu and Bui Cong Trung represented this type Based on the party‟s first Political Platform and Statutes, which highlighted “First to carry out the national revolution and then carry out the world revolution,” Tran Huy Lieu in his book History of 80 years of Resistance against France wrote that “As for the VNP, the key sentence of the above-mentioned platform showed that it was not a pure nationalist party as many people believed Instead, from moral perspectives, it advocated a world revolution to fight imperialism In the second Political Platform and Statutes drafted in late 1928, the party‟s doctrine was spelled out as democratic socialism accompanied by a footnote „Not the same as German democratic socialism.‟ The motto was „to promote national revolution, to build direct democracy and to support oppressed peoples So it could be said that VNP was not a purely nationalist party but also had socialist tendency” [8, pp.282-283] From the starting point that VNP had adopted the San-min doctrine since its inception, Bui Cong Trung in his book A Small Contribution on History of Vietnamese Modern Revolution, affirmed that “When the Vietnamese Nationalist Party was established, it immediately adopted Sun Yat-sen‟s San-min doctrine that was the revolutionary way of the weak bourgeois class of a colonised state which was being profoundly affected by the Russian October Revolution Therefore, the character of national revolution was no longer in the area of democracy, but it covered the domain of the people‟s livelihood, and thus unwittingly became a part of the world‟s proletarian revolution” [12, p.83] The second type of opinion about the VNP deliberately tried to erase class consciousness by contending that the party‟s ideology before 1930 contained elements that were anti-French, antifeudalist and anti-communist This was the opinion of some researchers in the south of Vietnam before 1975 such as Hoang Van Dao In the book Vietnamese Nationalist Party - History of Struggle of Period of 1927-1954, he wrote: “In the political arena to fight colonialism, feudalism, communism and dictatorship, the VNP was the largest pioneering force and also the last stronghold of the struggle for freedom and democracy” [2, p.23] The third type of opinions about the VNP was not totally homogenous, but shared similarities in their examining and assessing the core political ideology of VNP Typical of these opinions is the book Modern History of Vietnam’s Revolution, Vol (on the period of 1919-1930) by Tran Van Giau, Dinh Xuan Lam and Kieu Xuan Ba, published in 1963 The authors wrote: “The VNP was a revolutionary organisation most representative of the national revolutionary tendency.” Following this line, the authors of Vietnam’s History, Vol 2, also affirmed: “The VNP which was founded by Nguyen Thai Hoc and Pham Tuan Tai was the organisation representative of the tendency of bourgeois democratic revolution in Vietnam” [4, p.174] With the same type of Nguyen Van Khanh view are a number of other books, e.g Development of Ideology in Vietnam from the 19th Century to the August Revolution of 1974 by Tran Van Giau, in which he explained further that “the nationalist tendency was essentially bourgeois revolution”, on page 583; or Modern History of Vietnam (1917 - 1965) written in Russian by C.A.Mkhitarian as the chief author, on page 59; and Indochine, la colonisation ambiguë (1858 - 1954), by P.Brocheux and D.Hémery (1995), written in French, on page 299 In their book History of Vietnam, part 2, published in 1995 in Russian by the Lomonosov Moscow State University Publishers in Russia‟s capital, the authors, O V Novakova and P Iu Tsvetov, wrote that the precursor of the VNP is a party of the same name founded by Phan Boi Chau in 1924 in Guangzhou (China), and the Programme of the VNP was the same as that of the precursor party which was based on the three principles of the San-min doctrine (p.80) This opinion is not convincing due to lack of supporting documents Recently, there emerged some opinions to the effect that VNP was a patriotic organisation of the intelligentsia [6, p.491] From these divergent opinions, some questions have arisen: In terms of political ideology, was the VNP an organisation with revolutionary tendency or was it an organisation that represented nationalist revolution tendency? What was the nature of the party‟s nationalism and what were the differences between this party and other political organisations inside and outside the country during this period? In order to elucidate these questions, we have to examine and analyse the platform, the political views and activities of the VNP in order to obtain a fair and more objective overall picture Changes in Political Policies and Views of Vietnamese Nationalist Party Because of its weak social base and since it was born at a time when Marxism-Leninism had begun to take roots in various strata of the population, the VNP was not able to offer a consistent and clear platform during the two years of its existence According to the party‟s leading figures Tran Huy Lieu and Pham Tuan Tai, the primary objectives of the VNP adopted at the party‟s inaugural conference on 25 December 1927 was “first to carry out a national revolution, then a world revolution” [7, p.31] The concepts of “political platform”, “party principles”, or “ideology” were absent in the draft outlines of the party‟s Political Platform and Statutes Moreover, the concept of “world revolution” of the VNP members was not enunciated in clear terms Their view on world revolution was simplistic: after carrying the national revolution, they would join the other small and weak countries in making a world revolution [7, pp.32-33] About its objectives, the VNP clearly stressed the need to overthrow dictatorial democracy and to set up a nationalist republic of Vietnam; the people would be given the freedoms of expression, of movement, of gathering, and of religion In order to achieve these goals, the VNP proposed to carry out the revolutionary Vietnam Social Sciences, No (194) - 2019 process in three stages The first stage was the nascent or secret stage; the second one was the preparatory or semi-open stage; the third stage was ripe for uprising or the open stage In the last stage, relying on wellprepared manpower, the VNP would form suicide squads and cooperate with Vietnamese soldiers serving in the colonial French army to stage uprisings in urban areas, led by military officers previously trained abroad [7, p.49] In late 1928, the party realised that the first version of the Political Platform and Statutes was too vague and at the suggestion of Nguyen Khac Nhu, the VNP drafted the second version which was longer and more detailed than the first In the new Political Platform and Statutes, the party declared its ideology was social democratic; its objective was to unite all forces regardless of gender [7, p.93] in order to: a/ promote national revolution; b/ develop direct democracy; and c/ support the oppressed peoples In concrete terms the VNP wanted to use force to fight foreign aggression, to achieve national independence and to build a republican state; then it would lend support to other colonised countries to rise up and make a revolution for national liberation However, the VNP did not stop there; in early 1929, it continued to adjust and change its Political Platform and Statutes, re-affirming its goals to: a/ promote national revolution; b/ develop direct democracy; c/ support the oppressed nations [7, p.113] The last version of the VNP‟s Programme was drafted before the Yen Bai mutiny broke out, clearly upholding the principles of Liberty-Equality-Fraternity and its goals of national revolution, political revolution and social revolution [7, pp.121-122] In order to achieve these goals, the VNP advocated a revolutionary process in four stages: nascent (secret), preparation (semi-secret), open activity, and reconstruction (seizing power) Up to the time of the armed uprising, the leaders of the VNP still wanted to readjust the political platform but since time was running out, they trimmed down Sun Yat-sen‟s San-min doctrine to make it the party‟s own guiding principles In the part entitled “Applying the San-min doctrine” on the VNP, the author of Reference Documents of Modern History of Vietnam’s Revolution, Vol 5, wrote: “At this time, while preparing for a battle fraught with risks and uncertainties, VNP leaders certainly had no time to discuss about ideology or to adjust their political platform, they only could simply “coopted” the entire San-min doctrine, making it their own Since then San-min doctrine became the official ideology of the party” [7, p.55] After the Yen Bai mutiny was suppressed, a number of VNP members were jailed; many times they engaged in heated discussions on the ideology of their party Those members who were arrested before February 1929 only knew the first version of the party‟s platform and charter Those who were arrested immediately before and after the Yen Bai mutiny only recognised the San-min Doctrine In 1926, two key figures of Nam Dong Publishing House, Pham Tuan Lam and Pham Hoang Tran compiled and published the book Nguyen Van Khanh “Biography and Doctrine of Sun Yat-sen” [11, p.270] In the introduction, the authors wrote: “We compiled this book only to pay homage to our hero The hero‟s spirit has not died, his accomplishments live on, and introducing the hero to everyone is a way to say to those who have not known him that: there was such a hero” [11, p.270] These authors also added that they wanted to translate Sun Yat-sen‟s works into Vietnamese However, their wish was never fulfilled since the publishing house was forced to close down by order of the French colonial authorities The documents above show that the ideology of VNP was based on the three principles: Liberty-Equality-Fraternity, but actually the content of these principles was the same as the three basic tenets of the San-min doctrine Sun Yat-sen himself affirmed this in his speech of 16 March 1924: “In the French revolution, the motto was Liberty-Equality-Fraternity just as the motto of Chinese revolution today being Nationalism (Min Ts'u), Democracy (Min Ch'uan) and Livelihood (Min Sheng) [13, pp.50-51] However, there are some considerable differences between San-min doctrine and the principles of the VNP Sun Yat-sen advocated a revolution carried out in three stages: 1/military unification by using military power to eradicate obstacles to build the nation‟s foundation; 2/ political tutelage by using dissemination, encouraging the people to get rid of feudalism, establish self-ruled local councils (parliamentary representation style); 3/ constitutional democracy by instituting a Five-Power Constitution (executive, legislative, judicial, control and examination) [10, pp.341-367] In order to reach the goals of nationalism, Sun Yat-sen proposed three missions including: 1/ to mobilise the Chinese population against the Manchu dynasty; 2/ to initiate a revolutionary movement that can be achieved through violence; 3/ to conduct a revolutionary movement to overthrow the Manchu regime This was different from the revolutionary approach of the VNP whose aims were to make a national revolution, to establish a constitutional republic and to help oppressed peoples to rise up with their own revolutions National revolution doctrine - core element of VNP’s political ideology Under the influence of Sun Yat-sen‟s Sanmin doctrine, the VNP sided with the position of the nation‟s bourgeoisie class to deal with national issues In all of its political platforms and charters, the VNP concentrated on national issues, considering the fight against national oppression and national liberation as its primary responsibility The foremost responsibility in its first charter (1928) was “to promote national revolution” and in its amended Statutes and Programme (1929) was “to promote national revolution, to build directly a republic, to support oppressed nations” (the party‟s platform in 1929) Then it is clear that its ultimate aim was to use violence to overthrow the colonial rule of the French empire in order to gain national independence, establish a Vietnam Social Sciences, No (194) - 2019 republican government and institute people‟s rights and democracy and pave the way for capitalism to develop in Vietnam Although the party‟s political platform did refer to the reconstruction period, this was done in a vague manner, mentioning such tasks as “propagating knowledge, educating the people by public talks, granting freedom of speech. In this regard, the colonial newspaper La Revue Franỗaise annammite issued on August 1929 wrote: “If all the big words of the Chinese revolutionary party are removed from the Vietnam Nationalist Party‟s platform, there is nothing left except one sentence: you Frenchmen, go away! The people of the party not know what to after finishing their job, there is no social programme, no political programme” [1] The reason of this shortcoming was the weak social base of the bourgeoisie nationalist movement, or, in other words, it was because that Vietnamese bourgeoisie had to reckon with a feeble economy and a weak political base Relying on a bourgeois class in such a weak position, the VNP adopted the San-min doctrine and applied it in a specific way First of all, the party‟s view about national issues and nationalism was not similar to Sun Yatsen‟s nationalism at the early stage Sun Yat-sen had said: “Considering the situation of social customs in Chinese history…, nationalism is the doctrine of the people of the nation” (implying the Han Chinese) He had also emphasised: “To talk about nationalism is to talk about the doctrine of the people of the nation This is only true for China, not true for other countries” [13, p.189] In contrast, the goal of the party‟s nationalism was to fight against national oppression and slavery by a foreign colonial empire Of course, Sun Yat-sen‟s view of nationalism was later re-adjusted, amended and developed into The Three Great Policies: alliance with Russia and tolerance of the communists, support for the worker and peasant classes, equalising land ownership and restraining capitalism The party‟s nationalist standpoint was not only expressed in its guiding principles, but also in the way it assessed potential revolutionary forces in both its guiding principles and actual deeds In both its political platform and its actual revolutionary deeds, the VNP had no intention to engage in class struggle It always took the bourgeois nationalist standpoint in assessing and coordinating revolutionary forces The basic guidelines of the two platforms and statutes written in 1928 and 1929 highlighted the party‟s basic motto of national solidarity uniting all forces regardless of gender, social class, belief and age in order to carry out the party‟s objectives However, there was a gap between the party‟s pronounced objectives and what happened on the ground since in reality the party attached more attention to the role of some social classes while downplaying the roles of others This could be seen in the party‟s development process It gave top priority to recruiting Vietnamese soldiers serving in the French colonial army, followed by members of the bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie, intellectuals living in urban areas; then notables, local officials and wealthy people in rural areas As for the Vietnam Social Sciences, No (194) - 2019 a positive relationship between women’s status and divorce Today, younger generations of women have more opportunities to receive higher education and therefore attain a higher socioeconomic status than that of their mothers and grandmothers Improvements in women’s status create a socio-cultural environment that makes divorce more easily attainable [7] For many Asian women, divorce was not an option a few decades ago, as it was associated with social stigma or betrayal to the husband’s family It is expected that there would be gender differentiations in divorce prevalence and patterns, as well as the reasons for divorce, towards increasing the proactive role of women, especially young women Figure 6: Percentage Distribution of Initiate Person in Divorce by Year, 2000-2009 120 100 80 % 60 40 20 2000 2001 2002 Both initiation 2003 2004 2005 Women initiation 2006 2007 2008 2009 Men Initiation Source: Tran Thi Minh Thi (2014), Model of Divorce in Contemporary Vietnam: A Socioeconomic and Structural Analysis of Divorce in the Red River Delta in 2000s, Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi 4.6 Finding 6: A trend toward higher individualism in divorce It is obvious that marriage is universal, familialism remains significant but individual freedom increases, in the context that informal control of families and kinship on individuals are weaken due to the pressure of social and residential mobility in Vietnam 84 [47] In the theoretical groundwork for liberalism and the socialist-oriented market economy, individualistic culture is believed to increase in Vietnam In this study, an increasing number of couples end their marriages due to “modern”, or individualistic reasons, such as lifestyle disputes Lifestyle differences have become the major reason for divorce Tran Thi Minh Thi in Vietnam This may be a sincere reason for divorce, which implies the Vietnamese are becoming more individualistic, or it may just be an excuse to carry out divorce procedures in a setting where obtaining a divorce has become easier Figure shows that, among the divorced population, the most universally reported reason for divorce was a lifestyle conflict, which accounted for 73.6% of divorces Within this population, the proportion of urban couples citing this reason was higher than it was among rural couples (80% versus 60%, respectively) The pattern of divorce due to lifestyle differences tends to increase by years As Figure shows, divorce due to lifestyle conflicts has gradually increased in the tenyear period under study In 2000, only 63.7% of couples asked for a divorce because of lifestyle conflicts In 2006, the percentage increased to 78.8%, and it peaked at 85.4% in 2009 There was a sharp increase in the percentage of divorces resulting from lifestyle conflicts in rural areas In 2000, only 45.8% of couples reported lifestyle conflicts as the cause of divorce By 2008 and 2009, the percentage had nearly doubled Meanwhile, the number of divorces in urban areas due to lifestyle conflicts was high in 2000 (73.6%) The percentage increased slightly in the following years, rising to 86% in 2009 (Figure 8) Divorce due to lifestyle differences is the highest among those with a high socioeconomic status and the lowest among those with a low socio-economic status (Figure 9) Figure 7: Reported Reasons for Divorce, 2000-2009 Rural Urban Eco Hardship** Adultery** D.violence & conflict** Lifestyle conflict*** Missing/in prison*** No child Total Addicted* Source: Tran Thi Minh Thi (2014), Model of Divorce in Contemporary Vietnam: A Socioeconomic and Structural Analysis of Divorce in the Red River Delta in 2000s, Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi 85 Vietnam Social Sciences, No (194) - 2019 Figure 8: Divorce Reasons by Year, 2000-2009 Source: Tran Thi Minh Thi (2014), Model of Divorce in Contemporary Vietnam: A Socioeconomic and Structural Analysis of Divorce in the Red River Delta in 2000s, Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi Figure 9: Divorce Reasons by Wealth, 2000-2009 Poor/Low socioeconomic status Economic hardship Adultery Average/Middle Domestic Violence Addicted Lifestyle dispute Better off/High socioeconomic status Missing, in prison No child Source: Tran Thi Minh Thi (2014), Model of Divorce in Contemporary Vietnam: A Socioeconomic and Structural Analysis of Divorce in the Red River Delta in 2000s, Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi 86 Tran Thi Minh Thi As “lifestyle difference” is increasingly cited as the major reason for divorce, it may be a real reason for divorces, which means Vietnamese people are becoming more and more “individualistic” On the other hand, this reason could be citied just as an excuse to carry out divorce procedures in a “modern” setting in which divorce has become easier Case studies of divorced people reveal that “lifestyle differences” sometimes hides actual reasons behind the divorce, such as family conflicts, adultery, etc Even so, there are shadows of lifestyle differences in hidden reasons For example, couples may be so different in lifestyle and viewpoints that conflicts and domestic violence arise There is evidence from this study that lifestyle difference is an individualistic reason for divorce - that it is part of the process of modernisation and more likely to be a characteristic of people in a modern setting, such as an urban area, high socio-economic status, or among people who were older age at marriage Adultery is more likely a modern reason for divorce Figure indicates that adultery ranks third among the causes of divorce (7.2%) There is no significant difference between rural and urban couples in this regard The percentage of divorces that cite adultery as the reason was highest from 2000 to 2005, and then, the percentage dropped remarkably in the following years It is interesting to note that divorce resulting from adultery was extremely high in rural areas at the beginning of the 2000s and was relatively high in urban areas Why divorce due to adultery seems to increase? Rindfuss and Morgan’s (1983) stated that a quiet but profound sexual revolution was taking place in Asia Sharing a very common culture heritage and in the open period, it is reasonable to suggest that the Vietnam family is experiencing such a quiet sexual revolution which in turn may have a strong influence on traditional ideas about virginity and faithfulness in marriage Individuals may be more and more open-minded about sexuality, love and happiness They can seek an extramarital relationship and be ready to dissolve their marriage It is explained why the adultery is higher in more modern settings, such as in urban areas or among couples of a high socioeconomic status These individualistic reasons of divorce in Vietnam are similar to many other societies For instance, in the 1990s, Japan sees the returning of the divorcing society Grounds for divorce include retaining adultery, malicious desertion, unknown whereabouts, and the no-fault provision In the late 1990s, the image of divorce as a positive step of liberation for women was especially promoted in print media as divorce with a smile or happy divorce [16] 4.7 Finding 7: Traditional divorce remains If we carefully consider the real reasons for divorce through interviews, it becomes clear that there still exist domestic disputes based on traditional family ideology It has become easier for Vietnamese people to obtain divorces in the process of modernisation However, it also means that people can get divorced more casually for traditional reasons The most profound evidence of the influence of traditional reasons for divorce is the number of divorces due to domestic violence, which 87 Vietnam Social Sciences, No (194) - 2019 ranks second (9.2%) among all reasons given for divorce, but there is a large difference between rural and urban couples Over the ten years, the percentage of divorces ending because of domestic violence was significant but decreased sharply, especially since 2005 In 2000, approximately 20% of couples divorced because of domestic violence As the Law against Domestic Violence to Women has taken effect, the situation is gradually changing Until 2009, only 4.2% of divorces resulted from domestic violence, which still ranked second among the reasons but significantly declined (Figures 6, and 8) The trend however does not simply mean that domestic violence in Vietnam is declining In some cases, husbands often not want to register domestic violence as an official reason for their divorces because it is disadvantageous to them to so, as it is now clearly defined by the state law as against the law Although gender equality and freedom from violence are guaranteed under the law, inequality and violence persist in most communities and in institutions entrusted with overseeing and implementing the law [3] Domestic violence usually implies husbands beating wives Women generally not request a divorce the first time they are beaten by their husbands According to this study, divorce occurs when the violence is severe, systematic, and unchangeable There are many reasons for domestic violence Women accept the violence to try to keep the family peace, for the sake of the children, or out of the shame they would feel if others learn about the violence Therefore, many husbands give themselves the “right” to control their wives 88 by using violence if their wives not obey or satisfy them Divorce due to economic hardship is another dimension of the traditional style of divorce Among the divorces in this study, 5.4% of couples divorce due to economic hardship (Figure 6) There is a huge difference between rural and urban areas in terms of divorce due to economic hardship A very small number of urban couples divorce for this reason, but the percentage is significantly higher in rural areas Therefore, economic hardship is a significant reason for marital breakup in rural areas, although it is not a significant reason for urban couples to divorce Figures to indicate that the percentage of divorces caused by economic hardship changed slightly during the ten-year period studied At the beginning of the 2000s, economic hardship accounted for the highest percentage of divorces, whereas it accounted for the lowest percentage of divorces by the late 2000s Since 2005, economic hardship as a cause of divorce has dramatically decreased The percentage of divorces reported as being caused by economic hardship dropped to only 1.8%, 2.5%, and 2.1% in 2007, 2008, and 2009 This seems to correspond well with the recent economic growth in Vietnam Conclusion Divorce in Vietnam is increasing in both number and rate The upturn is much stronger in urban areas than in rural areas The trend is similar to that of other Southeast Asian countries, but remains low compared to developed countries At the Tran Thi Minh Thi same time, modernisation, accompanied by the infiltration of egalitarianism, the improvement of women’s socio-economic status, and the expansion of individualism, explains the increasing number of divorces in Vietnam State policies and strategies on marriage, family, population, and gender equality; socio-economic development; the international integration of socio-culture; and mass media institutional settings along with increasing individualisation are significant factors influencing this trend towards divorce Social changes associated with modernisation have eroded traditional norms Women’s increased economic independence, a smaller family size, and ideological emphasis on self-fulfilment in relationships as well as individual choice may shift the tide towards less stable relationships Modernisation has brought autonomous ways of life among the Vietnamese Since the 1950s, the position of Vietnamese women has significantly improved in many aspects Gender equality and increased independence for women in marriage and family resulted in the dominant trend of women initiating divorce The socioeconomic miracle following the country’s opening to the outside world and the Renovation begun in 1986 have dramatically changed social mores, and divorce no longer carries the social stigma it once did Vietnam’s transition to a market economy and modernisation also began to reshape lifestyles and values, including those regarding marriage and divorce Socio-structural and legal changes under the increasing modernisation process have caused individuals to adopt more liberal values towards marriage, family, and divorce than before Collectivism is weakening while individualism becomes stronger Individualism, which used to be weak in traditional society, has become one of the most influential factors in the rising divorce rate With material comforts vastly improved, people are no longer satisfied with marriages that merely fulfil the need to carry on the family line and require women to obey and sacrifice It has become easier for Vietnamese people to get divorced due the process of modernisation However, this also means that people can get divorced much easier for traditional family reasons In rural areas, divorce procedures are more complicated, and collective decision-making occurs with the direct intervention of those who possess relevant power, such as family members, extended families, and mass organisations, revealing stronger social ties and collectivism in rural areas Of these, local governments and social organisations play significant roles in individual divorce decisions through their intervention efforts to achieve reconciliation and through receiving and preparing divorce profiles at the commune level In other words, divorce is a long and complicated process, with attempts at reconciliation, counselling, and the intervention of family, lineage, village, and commune authorities Other factors involved in divorces are co-habitation arrangements, tensions in the relationship between a mother-in-law and her daughterin-law, vestiges of polygyny, and parents’ influence in mate selection There is a competing force between modern and traditional influences on the reasons for divorce The most profound evidence of the influence of traditional reasons for divorce is the second-place 89 Vietnam Social Sciences, No (194) - 2019 ranking of domestic violence among all the reasons for divorce Divorce due to economic hardship is another dimension of traditional divorce Economic hardship is a significant reason leading to marital dissolution in rural areas, and it influences marital quality, explosive tempers, and irritable behaviour, as well as promotes interactional difficulties Another traditional style of divorce is divorce due to childlessness, which shows the value for children among Vietnamese people It is worth noting that couples in urban settings are more likely to divorce for lifestyle differences and adultery, which constitute a more open-minded viewpoint of their marriage and happiness More couples are ending their marriages for “modern” reasons, resulting from greater individualism The marriage duration is shorter among divorced people in rural areas while the majority of people who divorced for individualistic reasons (i.e lifestyle differences) are couples who live in an urban area, have a high socioeconomic status, and marry at an older age This tendency may arise owing to the conflict between the greater social pressure to maintain the traditional values of family and an increasingly open viewpoint rooted in modernisation that make people ready to dissolve their marriage Divorces in Vietnam report both traditional and modern styles, and some are transitioning between the two processes The disparate co-existence of various levels of traditional, transitional, and modern values in a context that new institutions have not perfected and the continuing existence of old institutions is the general model of divorce in contemporary Vietnam 90 Note Acknowledgement: The paper is from the research: Divorce in Southwestern Vietnam: Situation, Sociostructural Causes and 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China Strategic Partnership (192) 11 Takupiwa Nyanga Rosenary Sibanda Magnet That Truss Domestic Workers and (192) Employers in Armed Conflict Societies: A Case of Mazoe in Changara District in Mozambique 22 Lee Yung Lung Political Culture in Vietnam Today (192) 37 Le Van Phong Military Advisor Mission 959 and Its (192) International Duties in Laos in 1959-1975 Period 46 Vu Thi Phuong Dung Current Skilled Labour Shortage in Vietnam (192) 59 Vu Thanh Humanitarianism in Vietnamese Literature (192) from 18th Century to First Half of 19th Century 69 Truong Thi Thanh Quy Impacts of Health Care Policy on Human (192) Development in Vietnam and A Number of Other Countries in the World 79 Nguyen Van Thanh Impacts of Fourth Industrial Revolution on (193) Renovating Mode of Ruling of Communist Party of Vietnam Lai Lam Anh Chu Thi Huong 95 Tran Thi Minh Chau Vu Van Phuc Land Policies over More Than Thirty Years of (193) Renovation Period in Vietnam 19 Nguyen Thi Hien Liquidity Safety in Commercial Banking (193) Activities in Vietnam 34 Le Quang Hoa Perceptions of Developmental State Theories (193) and Developmental State Mindset in Vietnam 44 Nguyen Quang Mien Nguyen Quang Bac Vu Anh Hung Sa Huynh Culture as Approached from (193) Geoarchaeology 57 Saifur Rashid Meaning and Rituals of Death: An Insight into (193) Selected Ethnic and Religious Communities of Bangladesh 75 Nguyen Truong Giang Community-based Videos in Vietnam (193) 93 Nguyen Van Khanh Thought of Vietnamese Nationalist Party on (194) National Issues Tran Dinh Thien Vietnam’s Economy: Overview and Assessments (194) of Prospects 13 Tran Xuan Hiep Nguyen Huy Hoang Impacts of ASEAN Economic Community on (194) Integration of Vietnamese Industry 28 Cu Chi Loi America’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Its Impact (194) on Cooperation and Development in Asia 40 Nguyen Huu Minh Characteristics of Population Ageing Process (194) in Vietnam and Issue of Caring for the Elderly 52 Tran Thi Minh Thi A Decade Review of Divorce in Vietnam 69 96 (194) CALL FOR PAPERS Vietnam Social Sciences Review (VSSR), ISSN: 1013-4328 Vietnam Social Sciences Review (VSSR) is the official journal of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), the leading research centre of Vietnam VSSR covers the main areas of social and human sciences such as economics, politics, philosophy, literature, linguistics, history, cultural studies, religious studies, anthropology, psychology, etc It provides a forum of high quality research to all scholars of interests VSSR is a bi-monthly peer-review and openaccess journal, published both online and in print versions VSSR is indexed and accredited by the Ministry of Sciences and Technology, Ministry of Education and Training and international research communities Paper Format and Submission: - 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Psychology, VASS Bui Quang Tuan, Vietnam Institute of Economics, VASS Tu Weiming, Peking University, China VIETNAM SOCIAL SCIENCES JOURNAL OF VIETNAM academy OF SOCIAL SCIENCES No (194) - 2019 ISSN 1013-4328... Thuan, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), Chairman Ngo Van Vu, Vietnam Social Sciences Review, VASS, Acting Editor-in-chief, Vice Chairman Tran Thi An, Vietnam National University, Hanoi... Dinh Thien1 Vietnam Institute of Economics, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Email: trandinhthien09@gmail.com Received on November 2019 Revised on 12 November 2019 Accepted on 18 November 2019