Vietnam's Lost Revolution: Ngô Đình Diệm's Failure to Build an Independent Nation, 1955–1963 (Cambridge Studies in US Foreign Relations)

Vietnam's Lost Revolution Employs Newly-released Archival Material From Vietnam To Examine The Rise And Fall Of The Special Commissariat For Civic Action In The First Republic Of Vietnam, And In So Doing Reassesses The Origins Of The Vietnam War. A Cornerstone Of Ngô Đình Diệm's Presidency, Civic Action Was Intended To Transform Vietnam Into A Thriving, Modern, Independent, Noncommunist Southeast Asian Nation. Geoffrey Stewart Juxtaposes Diem's Revolutionary Plan With The Conflicting And Competing Visions Of Vietnam's Postcolonial Future Held By Other Indigenous Groups. He Shows How The Government Failed To Gain Legitimacy Within The Peasantry, Ceding The Advantage To The Communist-led Opposition And Paving The Way For The American Military Intervention In The Mid-1960s. This Book Provides A Richer And More Nuanced Analysis Of The Origins Of The Vietnam War In Which Internal Struggles Over National Identity, Self-determination, And Even Modernity Itself Are Central-- 1. A Temporary Expedient : The Origins Of Civic Action In Vietnam -- 2. Nationalism And Welfare Improvement In The Republic Of Vietnam -- 3. Revolution, Community Development, And The Construction Of Diệm's Vietnam -- 4. Bettering The People's Conditions Of Existence : Civic Action And Community Development, 1957-9 -- 5. Civic Action And Insurgency -- 6. The Strategic Hamlet Program And Civic Action In Retreat -- Conclusion: Vietnam's Lost Revolution. Geoffrey C. Stewart. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover -- Half-title -- Series information -- Title page -- Copyright information -- Dedication -- Table of contents -- Illustrations -- Maps -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- One A Temporary Expedient -- Ngô Đình Diệm and the Legacy of the First Indochina War -- Kiều Công Cung and the Origins of Civic Action -- Early Assessments -- Two Nationalism and Welfare Improvement in the Republic of Vietnam -- The Roots of a Revolution -- "Raising the People's Intellectual Standards" and "Welfare Improvement"--USOM, Community Development and the CDV -- The CDV, Ngô Đình Diệm and Nation-Building in South Vietnam -- Three Revolution, Community Development and the Construction of Diệm's Vietnam -- Civic Action and the Personalist Revolution -- The Community Development Plan: Phát Triển Cộng Đồng -- Competing Conceptions of Development: Phát Triển Cộng Đồng and the Eisenhower Administration -- Four "Bettering the People's Conditions of Existence"--Kiều Công Cung, the Special Commissariat for Civic Action and the Community Development Plan -- Kiều Công Cung's Community Development Plan -- Apotheosis -- Five Civic Action and Insurgency -- The Roots of the Insurgency -- Civic Action, Community Development and the Burgeoning Insurgency -- Six The Strategic Hamlet Program and Civic Action in Retreat -- The New Line of Action -- The Emergence of the National Liberation Front -- From Civic Action to Strategic Hamlets -- The Kennedy Administration and the Strategic Hamlet Program -- Denouement -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Archival Collections -- Government Publications -- Vietnamese-Language Sources -- Books and Articles -- Theses and Dissertations -- Index "Vietnam's Lost Revolution employs newly-released archival material from Vietnam to examine the rise and fall of the Special Commissariat for Civic Action in the First Republic of Vietnam, and in so doing reassesses the origins of the Vietnam War. A cornerstone of Ngô Đình Diệm's presidency, Civic Action was intended to transform Vietnam into a thriving, modern, independent, noncommunist Southeast Asian nation. Geoffrey Stewart juxtaposes Diem's revolutionary plan with the conflicting and competing visions of Vietnam's postcolonial future held by other indigenous groups. He shows how the government failed to gain legitimacy within the peasantry, ceding the advantage to the communist-led opposition and paving the way for the American military intervention in the mid-1960s. This book provides a richer and more nuanced analysis of the origins of the Vietnam War in which internal struggles over national identity, self-determination, and even modernity itself are central"-- Provided by publisher 1. A temporary expedient : the origins of civic action in Vietnam -- 2. Nationalism and welfare improvement in the Republic of Vietnam -- 3. Revolution, community development, and the construction of Diem's Vietnam -- 4. "Bettering the people's conditions of existence" : civic action and community development, 1957-9 -- 5. Civic action and insurgency -- 6. The strategic Hamlet program and civic action in retreat -- Conclusion: Vietnam's lost revolution This book analyzes the origins of the Vietnam War, examining President Ngô Đình Diệm's efforts to build a modern, independent nation amongst internal struggles