
Between War and the State
Civil Society in South Vietnam, 1954-1975
Van Nguyen-Marshall(Author)
Southeast Asia Program Publications, Cornell University (Publisher)
Published on 15. July 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-5017-7058-6 (ISBN)
Description
In Between War and the State, Van Nguyen-Marshall examines an array of voluntary activities, including mutual-help, professional, charitable, community development, student, women's, and rights organizations active in South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. By bringing focus to the public lives of South Vietnamese people, Between War and the State challenges persistent stereotypes of South Vietnam as a place without society or agency. Such robust associational life underscores how an active civil society survived despite difficulties imposed by the war, government restrictions, economic hardship, and external political forces. These competing political forces, which included the United States, Western aid agencies, and Vietnamese communist agents, created a highly competitive arena wherein the South Vietnamese state did not have a monopoly on persuasive or coercive power. To maintain its influence, the state sometimes needed to accommodate groups and limit its use of violence. Civil society participants in South Vietnam leveraged their social connections, made alliances, appealed to the domestic and international public, and used street protests to voice their concerns, secure their interests, and carry out their activities.
Reviews / Votes
Between War and the State represents a major contribution to the study of modern Vietnam.(Pacific Affairs)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ithaca
United States
Publishing group
Cornell University Press
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
7 b&w halftones, 1 map - 7 Halftones, black and white - 1 Maps
Dimensions
Height: 151 mm
Width: 230 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
376 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5017-7058-6 (9781501770586)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
07/2023
Cornell University East Asia Program
€26.49
Available for download
Person
Van Nguyen-Marshall is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Trent University. She is the author of In Search of Moral Authority.
Content
Introduction: Theory and Scope
1. The Historical and Political Landscape
2. Sociability and Associational Life in South Vietnam
3. Performing Social Service in South Vietnam
4. Voluntary Efforts in Social and Community Development
5. Social and Political Activism of Students in South Vietnam
6. S.ng Thn Newspaper and the "Highway of Horror" Project
7. The Fight for Rights and Freedoms in the 1970s
Conclusion: Challenges and Possibilities in Comparative Context
1. The Historical and Political Landscape
2. Sociability and Associational Life in South Vietnam
3. Performing Social Service in South Vietnam
4. Voluntary Efforts in Social and Community Development
5. Social and Political Activism of Students in South Vietnam
6. S.ng Thn Newspaper and the "Highway of Horror" Project
7. The Fight for Rights and Freedoms in the 1970s
Conclusion: Challenges and Possibilities in Comparative Context