Voices from the Second Republic of South Vietnam (1967–1975) (Studies on Southeast Asia Series)

The Republic Of (south) Vietnam Is Commonly Viewed As A Unified Entity Throughout The Two Decades (1955-75) During Which The United States Was Its Main Ally. However, Domestic Politics During That Time Followed A Dynamic Trajectory From Authoritarianism To Chaos To A Relatively Stable Experiment In Parliamentary Democracy. The Stereotype Of South Vietnam That Appears In Most Writings, Both Academic And Popular, Focuses On The First Two Periods To Portray A Caricature Of A Corrupt, Unstable Dictatorship And Ignores What Was Achieved During The Last Eight Years. The Essays In Voices From The Second Republic Of South Vietnam (1967-1975) Come From Those Who Strove To Build A Constitutional Structure Of Representative Government During A War For Survival With A Totalitarian State. Those Committed To Realizing A Noncommunist Vietnamese Future Placed Their Hopes In The Second Republic, Fought For It, And Worked For Its Success. This Book Is A Step In Making Their Stories Known. Acknowledgments -- Introduction / K. W. Taylor -- A Vietnamese Perspective On Us Involvement In Vietnam / Bui Diem -- Testimony Of A Senior Officer, South Vietnamese Central Intelligence Organization / Phan Cong Tam -- From Facing Anti-war Crowds To Nation-building / Nguyen Ngoc Bich -- A Decade Of Public Service: Nation-building During The Interregnum And Second Republic (1964-75) / Tran Quang Minh -- Building A Market Economy During Wartime / Nguyen Duc Cuong -- From The First To The Second Republic: From Scylla To Charybdis / Phan Quang Tue -- Testimony Of A Former Representative Of The Republic Of South Vietnam National Assembly, 1971-75 / Tran Van Son -- The Tan Dai Viet Party And Its Contribution To Building Democracy In The Second Republic Of Vietnam / Ma Xai -- Naval Battle Of The Paracels / Ho Van Ky-thoai -- Military And Security / Lan Lu -- Contributors. K.w. Taylor, Editor. The Essays In This Volume Emerged From A Symposium Held At Cornell University In June 2012 --page 7. Includes Bibliographical References. Voices from the Second Republic of South Vietnam (1967-1975) Copyrights Page TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION: VOICES FROM THE SOUTH by K. W. Taylor CHAPTER ONE: A VIETNAMESE PERSPECTIVE ON US INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM by Bui Diem CHAPTER TWO: TESTIMONY OF A SENIOR OFFICER, SOUTH VIETNAMESE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION by PHAN CONG TAM CHAPTER THREE: FROM FACING ANTI-WAR CROWDS TO NATION-BUILDING by Nguyen Ngoc Bich CHAPTER FOUR: A DECADE OF PUBLIC SERVICE: NATION-BUILDING DURING THE INTERREGNUM AND SECOND REPUBLIC (1964–75) by Tran Quang Minh CHAPTER FIVE: BUILDING A MARKET ECONOMY DURING WARTIME by Nguyen Duc Cuong CHAPTER SIX: FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND REPUBLIC: FROM SCYLLA TO CHARYBDIS by Phan Quang Tue CHAPTER SEVEN: TESTIMONY OF A FORMER REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH VIETNAM NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, 1971–75 by Tran Van Son CHAPTER EIGHT: THE TAN DAI VIET PARTY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN THE SECOND REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM by Ma Xai CHAPTER NINE: NAVAL BATTLE OF THE PARACELS by Ho van Ky-Thoai CHAPTER TEN: MILITARY AND SECURITY by Lan Lu CONTRIBUTORS Annotation The Republic of (South) Vietnam is commonly viewed as a unified entity throughout the two decades (1955-75) during which the United States was its main ally. However, domestic politics during that time followed a dynamic trajectory from authoritarianism to chaos to a relatively stable experiment in parliamentary democracy. The stereotype of South Vietnam that appears in most writings, both academic and popular, focuses on the first two periods to portray a caricature of a corrupt, unstable dictatorship and ignores what was achieved during the last eight years.The essays in Voices from the Second Republic of South Vietnam (1967-1975) come from those who strove to build a constitutional structure of representative government during a war for survival with a totalitarian state. Those committed to realizing a noncommunist Vietnamese future placed their hopes in the Second Republic, fought for it, and worked for its success. This book is a step in making their stories known This volume recovers the stories of those who strove to build a constitutional structure of representative government in South Vietnam during a war for survival with a totalitarian state.