Dr. Alexander Vuving has two new publications exploring Vietnam’s history and foreign policy.

  • The first is a peer-reviewed article published in The Pacific Review (Vol. 38, Issue 1, 2025), titled “Bamboo in a Storm: The Russia-Ukraine War and Vietnam’s Foreign Policy (2022–2024).” The article examines the strategic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on Vietnam’s foreign policy and the country’s responses to the conflict. You can read the full article here.

  • The second is a chapter in The Cambridge History of the Vietnam War (Volume 3: Legacies). Titled “Vietnam’s Search for Its Place in the World,” the chapter traces Vietnam’s trajectory since the war with the United States. Dr. Vuving identifies five major turning points—1977, 1986, 1989, 2003, and 2014—as Vietnam’s Communist Party adapted to shifts in its strategic environment.

    According to Vuving, these decades of adjustments transformed Vietnam from “an outpost of socialism” and “spearhead of the world national liberation movement” to “an engaged and responsible member of the international community.” The country evolved from a fierce opponent to a discreet ally of the United States, all while maintaining its opposition to Chinese regional dominance.
    Access the chapter here.

Alexander Vuving is a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. The views expressed are those of the author alone and do not represent the official policy of the DKI APCSS, the U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.