Product Description

Vietnam has experienced large political and economic development since the war. This book argues that victory in 1975 caught the Communists wholly unprepared to cope with the reconstruction of the nation. Much is explored in this book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1242256 in Books
• Published on: 1997-04-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

From the Back Cover
Vietnam has experienced huge political and economic development since the war. In Anatomy of a Peace, Gabriel Kolko looks at the main economic phases the Communist Party has embarked upon since 1986 and outlines the transition to nascent capitalism. He also explores Vietnam's relations to its neighbours and the US in the light of social and psychological national features.
Based on extensive research and over 30 years first hand experience, Anatomy of a Peace is a timely examination of recent history and developing economies in Asia. Gabriel Kolko argues that neither an intentional socialist or market strategy have determined recent Vietnamese history and, in fact, the Communist Party has little control over development during peace time.

Customer Reviews

Tragedy in Perspective
Kolko reminds us that the Vietnamese were fighting _for_ something, not just against the U.S. in their tragic and destructive war. While the goal of _de jure_ independence was achieved, the dream of a just society languished. Kolko illustrates how this goal was destroyed by Communist authoritarianism, a costly war against Pol Pot, Western (and IMF) pressures, and the greed for power and money of Vietnam's new elite. In Vietnam's uncertain future, Kolko argues, only democracy and a renewed commitment to establishing social justice can win back the peace.

The book concludes with a deeply moving epilogue on the necessity and risks of resisting injustice, that everyone alive should read.

Kolko's Shortcoming
In an otherwise excellent work, Kolko fails to understand the fundamental purpose of the Vietnam War. It was not a war for an ideology, communism, as he implies but a War of National Liberation against the Japanese, the French and in its final stage the Americans. In the context of Cold War foreign aid patterns, a war against American imperialism had some communist overtones but these were not central to the movement. Kolko, a communist sympathizer, decries Vietnam's government abandoning communist economic policy arguing this hurts those who fought in the war the most. This is mere adaptation to a changing global context. Ho Chi Minh was first and foremost a nationalist.