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Moving Beyond the State-Civil Society Dichotomy Through the Case Study of a Community-Based Upgrading Project in Vietnam

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Vietnam at the Vanguard

Part of the book series: Asia in Transition ((AT,volume 15))

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Abstract

Social capital concepts in local governance and housing studies have moved beyond the state-civil society dichotomy, highlighting roles of both state and non-state factors in generating collective societal outcomes. This implication, however, remains ambiguous in Vietnam due to the dilemma between state efforts to mobilize multi-sectoral actors in national socio-economic development and persistent interests in controlling power over local affairs. Such ambiguity calls for more empirical insights questioning whether the state-civil society dichotomy can be challenged in Vietnam. This paper, through a qualitative case study approach, examines resources mobilized for a reported community-based upgrading project of a state-owned collective housing area established under the former centralized economy in the country’s north. The paper confirms the utility of a holistic social capital formation approach for Vietnam which moves beyond the state-civil society dichotomy and takes account of heterogeneous and multilevel-factors (e.g., individual, community, network, and state). Among these factors, the network’s hybrid norm of “organizational trust or legitimacy” is particularly important for its influence in cooperative relations with both state and civic actors. The paper nevertheless underlines that community-based initiatives might not be sustainable because their enabling resources and conditions are changeable and unpredictable.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The cities ranking upgrading system identified in legal documents including among others, articles 4 and 9, Vietnam Urban Planning Law 2009 and Decree No. 42/2009/ND-CP about the classification of the Vietnam urban system.

  2. 2.

    A global partnership for reducing urban poverty and promoting cities’ role in sustainable development (City Alliance 2020).

  3. 3.

    ACVN is a non-profit, voluntary association of Vietnamese cities/towns from rank IV upwards (ACVN statute).

  4. 4.

    Vinh CDF joined ENDA’s VNCDF in 1998 and was transferred to ACVN in 2008.

  5. 5.

    Decision No 146/2007/ QĐ-UBND, dated 19/12/2007, says that the minimum size of a house slot to be certified is 50 m2.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Geography, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Thi Thu Thuy Nguyen

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  1. Thi Thu Thuy Nguyen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Global Studies Programme, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Jamie Gillen

  2. Institute of Asian Studies (IAS), University of Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

    Liam C. Kelley

  3. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education (SHBIE), University of Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

    Phan Le Ha

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Nguyen, T.T.T. (2021). Moving Beyond the State-Civil Society Dichotomy Through the Case Study of a Community-Based Upgrading Project in Vietnam. In: Gillen, J., Kelley, L.C., Le Ha, P. (eds) Vietnam at the Vanguard. Asia in Transition, vol 15. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5055-0_5

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