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{{Use British (Oxford) English|date=December 2012}}
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{{Infobox Political party
|country = Vietnam
|party_name = Communist Party of Vietnam
|name_native = Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam
|party_logo = ]
|colorcode = red
|general_secretary = ]
|foundation = {{start date|df=yes|1930|2|3}}
|newspaper = '']''
|ideology = ],<br>]
|headquarters = 381 Doi Can st. 381, ], ]
|international =
|website =
|membership = 3,600,000
|membership_year = 2011
|youth_wing = ],<br>]
|seats1_title = ]
|seats1 = {{Infobox political party/seats|458|500|hex=#DA251D}}
}}
The '''Communist Party of Vietnam''' ('''CPV'''), also known as the '''Vietnamese Communist Party''' ('''VCP'''), is the founding and ruling political party of the ]. Although nominally it exists alongside the ], it maintains a ] and has centralized control over the state, military, and media. The supremacy of the Communist Party is guaranteed by Article 4 of the ]. {{As of|2012}}, the highest-ranked member of the ] is ], the current President of Vietnam. ], the eighth ranked member of the 11th Politburo, holds the title of ].

The highest institution of the CPV is the party's ] which elects the ]. In between party congresses, the Central Committee is the supreme organ on party affairs. Immediately after a party congress, the Central Committee elects the Politburo and Secretariat, and appoints the General Secretary, the highest party office. In between sessions of the Central Committee, the Politburo is the supreme organ on party affairs. However, it can only implement decisions based upon the policies which have been approved in advance by either the Central Committee or the party's National Congress. {{As of|2013}}, the ] comprises 14 members.

==History==
{{main|History of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}

===Rise to power (1925–1945)===
{{Communist Parties|expanded=Asia}}

The Communist Party traces its linage back to 1925, when ] established the ], commonly referred to as Thanh nien.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|pp=63–64}} Thanh Nien sought to make use of patriotism in an effort to end the colonial occupation of the country by France.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=64}} The group sought political and social objectives—national independence and the redistribution of land to working peasants.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=64}} Thanh Nien was designed to prepare the ground for a revolutionary armed struggle against the French occupation.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=70}}

In 1928 the headquarters of the Thanh Nien organization in Canton was forced underground by Chinese nationalists led by ] (KMT).{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=76}} This led to a national breakdown within the organization,{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=114}} which lead indirectly to a split within Thanh Nien.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=119}} On 17 June 1929, more than 20 delegates from cells throughout the Tonkin region held a conference in ], where they declared the dissolution of Thanh Nien and the establishment of a new organization called the ] (ICP).{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=120}} The other faction of Thanh Nien, based in the central and southern administrative districts of the country, renamed themselves the ] in late 1929.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=120}} The two organizations spent the rest of 1929 engaged in polemics against one another in an attempt to gain a position of hegemony over the radical Vietnamese liberation movement.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=122}} A third Vietnamese Communist Party emerged around this time, called the League of Indochinese Communists (Vietnamese: ''Đông Dương Cộng sản Liên Đoàn''), which was not connected with Thanh Nien.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=122}} The League of Indochinese Communists had its roots in another national liberation group which had existed in parallel with Thanh Nien, and saw itself as a rival to the latter.{{sfn|Huynh|1982|p=122}}

The two warring splinters of Thanh Nien joined with individual members of a third Marxist group called the Communist Party of Vietnam, founded by ] at a "Unification Conference" held in Hong Kong from 3–7 February 1930.{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=27}} At a later conference, the party was renamed the ] (Vietnamese: ''Đông Dương Cộng sản Đảng'', often abbreviated to ICP). During its first five years of existence, the ICP attained a membership of about 1500 and had large contingent of sympathizers. Despite the group's small size, it exerted an influence in a turbulent Vietnamese social climate. Poor harvests in 1929 and 1930 and an onerous burden of debt served to radicalize many peasants. In the industrial city of ], ] demonstrations were organized by ICP activists, which gained critical mass when the families of the semi-peasant workers joined the demonstrations to express their dissatisfaction with the economic circumstances they faced.{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=28}}

As three May Day marches grew into mass rallies, French colonial authorities moved in to quash what they perceived to be dangerous peasant revolts. Government forces fired upon the assembled crowds, killing dozens of participants and inflaming the population. In response, local councils were organized in villages in an effort to govern themselves locally. Repression by the colonial authorities began in the fall 1931, and about 1300 people were eventually killed by the French and many more were imprisoned or deported as government authority was reasserted and the ICP was effectively wiped out in the region.{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=28}} General Secretary Tran Phu and many leaders of the Central Committee were arrested and killed. ] was assigned to Communist International to restore the movement. The party was restored in 1935, and Le Hong Phong was elected its General Secretary. In 1936, ] was appointed General Secretary instead of Le Hong Phong, who returned to the country to restore the Central Committee.

The ] drastically weakened the grip of France on Indochina. The fall of France to ] in May 1940 and the subsequent collaboration of ] with the Axis powers of Germany and Japan served to delegitimize French claims of sovereignty. The European war made colonial governance from France impossible and Indochina was occupied by Japanese forces.{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=30}}

At the beginning of the war, the Indochinese Communist Party instructed its members to go into hiding in the countryside as an underground organization. Despite this, more than 2,000 members of the party, including many key leaders, were rounded up and arrested.{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=30}} Party activists were particularly hard hit in the southern region of ], where the previously strong organization was wiped out by arrests and killings. After an uprising in Cochinchina in 1940, most of the Central Committee leaders, including Nguyen Van Cu (General Secretary) and Ha Huy Tap, were arrested and killed, and Le Hong Phong was deported to ] and died later.{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=31}}. A new party leadership, which included ], ], and ] emerged. Together with ], these would provide a unified leadership over the next four decades,{{sfn|Kolko|1985|pp=30-31}}

Party leader Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam in February 1941 and established a military organization known as the ] (Vietnamese: ''Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội'', commonly referred to as "Viet Minh").{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=30}} It was the most uncompromising fighting force against the Japanese occupation, and gained popular recognition and legitimacy in an environment that would develop into a political vacuum.{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=32}} Despite its position as the core of the Viet Minh organization, the Indochinese Communist Party remained very small through the war years, with an estimated membership of between 2,000 and 3,000 in 1944.{{sfn|Kolko|1985|p=32}}

===The war for independence (1945–1976)===
], Hồ Chí Minh, Trường Chinh, ]]]

Following the ] (1945) organized by the Viet Minh, Ho became Chairman of the Provisional Government (Premier of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and issued a ].{{sfn|Zinn|1995|p=460}} Although he convinced Emperor ] to abdicate, his government was not recognized by any country. He repeatedly petitioned American President ] for support for Vietnamese independence,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rationalrevolution.net/war/collection_of_letters_by_ho_chi_.htm|title=Collection of Letters by Ho Chi Minh|publisher=Rationalrevolution.net|accessdate=2009-09-26}}</ref> citing the ], but Truman did not respond.{{sfn|Zinn|1996|p=461}} After the successful takeover of ], Vietnam was taken over by Chinese nationalist forces and the French military. In response to this, the Communist Party was dissolved and in practice, the Viet Minh became a member of a large struggle for independence. The organization was ostensibly dissolved, but its core was still functioning. According to the CIA, membership grew to about 400,000 members by 1950. In 1951, during the war for independence, the officially dissolved Communist Party was officially re-established and renamed the Workers Party of Vietnam (Vietnamese: ''Đảng lao động Việt Nam''). The ] against French forces lasted until 1954 with the Vietnamese victory at the ].{{sfn|Leifer|1994|pp=175–176}}

At the second Party Congress it was decided that the Communist Party would be split into three; one party for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. However, in an official note it said that the "Vietnamese party reserves the right to supervise the activities of its brother parties in Cambodia and Laos."{{sfn|Stuart-Fox|1997|pp=80–81}} The Cambodian party, the ], was established in April 1951, and the Lao party, the ], was formed four years later, on 22 March 1955.{{sfn|Stuart-Fox|1997|p=81}} The third Party Congress, held in Hanoi in 1960, formalized the tasks of constructing socialism in what was by then ], or the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), and committed the party to the liberation of South Vietnam.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|p=55}} In 1975, the Workers Party of North Vietnam was merged with the ] of South Vietnam. At the fourth Party Congress in 1976, it was named the Communist Party of Vietnam;{{sfn|Reis|2012|p=15}}the party explained that the name change was made in light of the "strengthened ], the development of the leadership of the ] ... a worker-peasant alliance."{{sfn|Van|Cooper|p=55}}

===Ruling party (1976–present)===
The fourth Party Congress comprised 1,008 delegates who represented 1,553,500 party members, an estimated three percent of the Vietnamese population. A new line for socialist construction was approved at the congress, the ] (1976–1980) was approved and several amendments were made to the party's constitution. The party's new line emphasized building socialism domestically and supported socialist expansion internationally. The party's economic goal was to build a strong and prosperous socialist country in 20 years.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|p=55}} The economic goals set for the Second Five-Year Plan failed to be implemented, and between the fourth and fifth Party Congresses, a heated debate about economic reform took place. The first was at the sixth Central Committee plenum of the fourth Party Congress in September 1979, but the most revealing one occurred at the 10th Central Committee plenum of the fourth Party Congress which lasted form 9 October to 3 November 1981. The plenum adopted a reformist line, but it was forced to moderate its position when several grass-root party chapters rebelled against its resolution. At the fifth Party Congress, held in March 1982, the ] ] said the party had to strive to reach two goals; to construct socialism and to protect Vietnam from Chinese aggression, but priority was given to socialist construction.{{sfn|Võ|1990|p=125}} The party leadership acknowledged the failures of the Second Five-Year Plan, claiming that their failure to grasp the economic and social conditions aggravated the country's economic problems.{{sfn|Võ|1990|p=126}} The ] (1981–1985) emphasized the need to improve living conditions and the need for more industrial construction, but agriculture was given top priority. Other points were to improve the deficiencies in central planning, improve economic trade relations with the ] countries, ], and ].{{sfn|Võ|1990|p=127}}
]
While Lê Duẩn continued to believe in the goals set in the Third Five-Year Plan,{{sfn|Võ|1990|p=141}} leading members within the Communist Party were losing their trust in the system. It was in this mood that the 1985 price reform was introduced{{spaced ndash}}market prices were introduced, which led to a sudden increase in inflation.{{sfn|Võ|1990|pp=165–166}} By 1985, it became apparent that the Third Five-Year Plan had failed miserably.{{sfn|Võ|1990|p=168}} Lê Duẩn died on 10 July 1986, a few months before the sixth Party Congress.{{sfn|Corfield|2008|pp=111–112}} A ] meeting held between 25 and 30 August 1986, paved the way for more radical reforms; the new reform movement was led by ].{{sfn|Võ|1990|p=181}} At the sixth Party Congress, ] was elected the new General Secretary{{spaced ndash}}this was a victory for the party's old guard reformist wing. The new leadership elected at the Congress would later launch ] and establish the framework for the ].{{sfn|Võ|1990|pp=183–185}} The economic reforms were initiated alongside a relaxation of state censorship and freedom of expression.{{sfn|Largo|2002|p=2}}

At the seventh Party Congress in which Nguyễn Văn Linh retired from politics, he reaffirmed the party's and country's commitment to socialism.{{sfn|Jeffries|1993|p=238}} ] succeeded Nguyễn Văn Linh as General Secretary, ], the leading reformist communist, was appointed prime minister and ], was appointed ].{{sfn|Largo|2002|p=3}} In 1994, four new members were appointed to the ], all of whom opposed radical reform. At the June 1997 Central Committee meeting, both Lê Đức Anh and Võ Văn Kiệt confirmed their resignation to the ninth National Assembly, which was dissolved in September 1997. ] was approved as Võ Văn Kiệt's successor, and relatively unknown ] succeeded Lê Đức Anh as president.{{sfn|Largo|2002|pp=10–11}} At the fourth Central Committee plenum of the eighth Party Congress, ] was elected General Secretary and Đỗ Mười, Lê Đức Anh and Võ Văn Kiệt officially resigned from politics and were elected Advisory Council of the Central Committee. ] succeeded Lê Khả Phiêu in 2001 as general secretary.{{sfn|Abuza|2001|p=14}}

==Ideology==
]
Vietnam is a ] with a one-party system led by the Communist Party. The CPV espouses ] and ], the ideologies of the late Hồ Chí Minh. The two ideologies serve as guidance for the activities of the party and state.<ref name="Politicalsystem">{{cite web | title = Political system | publisher = ] | accessdate =20 April 2012 | url = http://www.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/English/TheSocialistRepublicOfVietnam/AboutVietnam/AboutVietnamDetail?categoryId=10000103&articleId=10001578 }}</ref> According to the Constitution, Vietnam is in a period of transition to socialism.<ref name="preambleoftheconstitution">{{cite web | title = Preamble of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam | publisher = ] | url = http://www.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/English/TheSocialistRepublicOfVietnam/AboutVietnam/AboutVietnamDetail?categoryId=10000103&articleId=10001012 | accessdate =20 April 2012}}</ref> Marxism–Leninism was introduced to Vietnam in the 1920s and 1930s, and Vietnamese culture has been led under the banners of patriotism and Marxism–Leninism.<ref>{{cite web | title = Vietnam culture overview | publisher = ] | accessdate =16 April 2012 | url = http://www.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/English/TheSocialistRepublicOfVietnam/AboutVietnam/AboutVietnamDetail?categoryId=10000103&articleId=10000475 }}</ref> Hồ Chí Minh's beliefs were not systematised during his life, nor quickly following his death. ]'s 1973 biography of Hồ emphasized his revolutionary policies. The thoughts of Hồ Chí Minh were systematized in 1989 under the leadership of ].{{sfn|Quinn-Judge|2002|p=2}} Hồ Chí Minh Thought and Marxism–Leninism became the official ideologies of the CPV and the state in 1991.{{sfn|Gillespie|2006|p=90}} The CPV's claim to legitimacy was retained after the collapse of communism in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 by its commitment to the thoughts of Hồ Chí Minh, according to Sophie Quinn-Judge.{{sfn|Quinn-Judge|2002|p=256}} According to Pierre Brocheux, the current state ideology is Hồ Chí Minh Thought, with Marxism–Leninism playing a secondary role.{{sfn|Brocheux|2007|p=186}} While some claim that Hồ Chí Minh Thought is used as a veil for the party leadership since they, according to this version, have stopped believing in communism, however this is false when considering that Hồ Chí Minh was an avid supporter of ] and the dictatorship of the proletariat. Others see Hồ Chí Minh Thought as a political umbrella term whose main function is to introduce non-socialist ideas and policies without challenging socialist legality.{{sfn|Gillespie|2006|p=90}}

Since its foundation, the key ideology has been Marxism–Leninism, but since the introduction of a mixed economy in the late 1980s and 1990s, it has lost its monopolistic ideological and moral legitimacy.{{sfn|Gillespie|2006|p=91}} Because of the Đổi Mới reforms, the party could not base its rule on defending only the workers and the peasants, which was officially referred to as the "working class-peasant alliance".{{sfn|Gillespie|2006|p=92}} In the constitution introduced in 1992, the State represented the "workers, peasants and intellectuals".{{sfn|Gillespie|2006|p=91}} In recent years, the party has stopped representing a specific class, but instead the "interests of the entire people", which includes entrepreneurs.{{sfn|Gillespie|2006|p=91}} The final class barrier was removed in 2006, when party members were allowed to engage in private activities. In the face of de-emphasising the role of Marxism–Leninism, the party has acquired a broader ideology, laying more emphasis on nationalism, ] and becoming the protector of tradition.{{sfn|Gillespie|2006|pp=91–92}}

===Transition to socialism===
{{rquote|right|"Characters of a new social regime were formed in Hồ Chí Minh's thoughts through, first of all, the method of transforming features of old regime into its contrary facets. It was the ]. According to this method, the process of formulating the people’s democratic regime in reality was considered the process of wiping out comprehensively fundamental features of colonial-feudal regime." | Lai Quoc Khanh explaining Hồ Chí Minh's way of thinking.<ref name="transitionhcm"/>|}}

According to Hồ Chí Minh, before it becomes socialist, a society must evolve through national liberation and the construction of a people's democratic regime. While national liberation is the means of taking power, the establishment of a people's democratic regime requires the total destruction of the ], colonialist, and imperialist society. Only through this destruction can Vietnam transit to socialism. Lai Quoc Khanh, a journalist in the theoretical '']'' wrote, "The people democratic regime is an objective necessity in the development course of Vietnamese society."<ref name="transitionhcm">{{cite web | url = http://english.tapchicongsan.org.vn/Home/Theory-and-Reality/2010/156/A-philosophy-perspective-on-peoples-democratic-regime-from-Ho-Chi-Minhs-ideology.aspx | title = A philosophy perspective on people’s democratic regime from Ho Chi Minh’s ideology | author = Khanh, Le Quoc | date = 28 December 2010 | publisher = ] of the Communist Party of Vietnam | work = ] | accessdate = 4 November 2012 }}</ref> A people's democratic regime, however, is not a socialist regime. For instance, in a people's democratic regime private ownership still exists, while in a communist or socialist stage of development, ownership does not exist. Vietnamese communists consider the distribution of land during Hồ Chí Minh's early rule as an example of people's democracy.<ref name="transitionhcm"/>

However, this is not the only difference. The logic is that difference in the ownership of productions lead to different modes of production. Hồ Chí Minh said that the basic economic tenets of a people's democratic regime was state ownership of certain segments of production{{spaced ndash}}considered socialist since the state belongs to the people, cooperatives, which were half-socialist in nature but would develop into fully socialist economic entities, and the personal economics of individual handicraft and peasantry, which would later develop into cooperatives), private capitalism and state capitalism, where the state shares capital with capitalists to develop the country further. Since these economic basics relied on different types of ownership, the economy of the people's democratic regime cannot be considered socialist, hence the regime is not socialist. For example, in the socialist-oriented market economy, the state-owned sector will be the dominant sector, hence the socialist character of the economy dominates.<ref name="transitionhcm"/> The political platform of the ] held in 1951 stated that, "The people’s democratic revolution is neither an old-type capitalist democratic revolution nor socialist revolution, it is a new-type capitalist democratic revolution which will evolve into socialist revolution without experiencing a revolutionary civil war."<ref name="transitionhcm"/> To be more specific, the people's democratic regime is a substage in capitalist development.<ref name="transitionhcm"/> While Hồ Chí Minh supported the position that Vietnam had entered the stage of transition to socialism in 1954, he held the belief that Vietnam was still "a democratic regime in which people are the masters" and not socialist.<ref name="transitionhcm"/> To reach the socialist stage of development, the development of the state sector was of utmost importance{{spaced ndash}}the lack of which would, according to Hồ Chí Minh, lead to failure.<ref name="transitionhcm"/> The platform of the ] held in January 2011 stated, "This is a profound and thorough revolutionary process and a complicated struggle between the old and the new for qualitative changes in all aspects of social life. It is essential to undergo a long period of transition with several steps of development and several mixed social and economic structures."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://english.tapchicongsan.org.vn/Home/Theory-and-Reality/2012/275/Partys-awareness-on-socialism-in-Viet-Nam-from-the-Platform-of-1930.aspx | title = Party’s awareness on socialism in Viet Nam from the Platform of 1930 to the Platform on national construction in the period of transition to socialism (revised and supplemented in 2011) | author = Trong Phuc, Nguyen | date = 4 November 2011 | publisher = ] of the Communist Party of Vietnam | accessdate = 4 November 2012 }}</ref>

According to the party's General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, during the transition to socialism, socialist factors of development compete with non-socialist factors, which include capitalist factors. Nguyễn said, "Along with positive aspects, there will always be negative aspects and challenges that need to be considered wisely and dealt with timely and effectively. It is a difficult struggle that requires spirit, fresh vision, and creativity. The path to socialism is a process of constantly consolidating and strengthening socialist factors to make them more dominant and irreversible. Success will depend on correct policies, political spirit, leadership capacity, and the fighting strength of the Party."<ref name="NPHSPS">{{cite web | url = http://www.solidnet.org/vietnam-communist-party-of-vietnam/3027-cp-of-vietnam-socialism-and-the-path-to-socialism-vietnams-perspective-en | title = Socialism and the path to Socialism-Vietnam’s Perspective | accessdate = 1 December 2012 | date = 7 November 2012 | work = ] | publisher = ] of the Communist Party of Vietnam | author = ]}}</ref>

===The "superiority of socialism"===
{{rquote|right|"There has never been a scientific and revolutionary theory like Marxism–Leninism. It is a 'comprehensively and logically tight theory which gives people a total world view' and a theory that not only aims at 'understanding the world, but also changing it'." "Capitalism will certainly be replaced by socialism, because that is the law of human history, which no one can deny." | ], the leader who initiated ], opposed the view that fundamental principles of Marxism–Leninism were to be changed, or rejected because of the introduction of market-elements into the economy.{{sfn|Elliott|2012|p=75}}|}}

The Communist Party believes that socialism is superior to other ideologies and state systems.<ref name="superiorityofsocialism"/> According to Marxism–Leninism, socialism is the second-to-last stage of socio-economic development before pure communism. To build a socialist society, communists have to image, outline and study society. The party believes that socialism leads to human liberation from every oppressive situation, exploitation and injustice. While the founders of Marxism–Leninism forecasted the main characteristics of a socialist society, the founders are not considered by the party to hold the whole truth. The main outline of this ideology is upheld by the party{{spaced ndash}}that is, a social mode superior and more advanced:<ref name="superiorityofsocialism">{{cite web | url = http://www.dangcongsan.vn/cpv/Modules/News/NewsDetail.aspx?co_id=28340644&cn_id=443288 | trans_title = These characteristics show the superiority of the socialist society that our people are building | title = Những đặc trưng thể hiện tính ưu việt của xã hội xã hội chủ nghĩa mà nhân dân ta đang xây dựng | author = Huu Nghia, Le | date = 17 January 2011 | publisher = ] of the Communist Party of Vietnam | accessdate = 4 November 2012 | language = Vietnamese }}</ref>

# the highest goal of socialism is to liberate the people from every ] and ], enabling comprehensive human development;<ref name="superiorityofsocialism"/>
# the facilities of socialism are the forces generated by modern advanced production;<ref name="superiorityofsocialism"/>
# socialism is the gradual abolition of private property and capitalism, and changes to the means of production;<ref name="superiorityofsocialism"/>
# socialism creates labour organizations and a new form labourer with high discipline and productivity;<ref name="superiorityofsocialism"/>
# socialism means the implementation of the principle of ];<ref name="superiorityofsocialism"/>
# state socialism is a new kind of democracy, reflecting the nature of the working class and representing the interests, power and will of the working people;<ref name="superiorityofsocialism"/>
# in a socialist society, the relationship between class and ethnicity will be resolved through a combination international and class solidarity{{spaced ndash}}nationalism will be replaced by ]<ref name="superiorityofsocialism"/>

===Socialist-oriented market economy===
{{main|Socialist-oriented market economy}}
The ] is neither socialist nor capitalist, but is socialist-oriented. The Communist Party rejects the view that a market economy has to be capitalist. According to the party, "a socialist market-oriented economy is a multi-sectoral commodity economy, which operates in accordance with market mechanisms and a socialist orientation."<ref name="NPHSPS"/> According to Nguyễn Phú Trọng, "It is a new type of market economy in the history of the market economy’s development. It is a kind of economic organization which abides by market economy rules but is based on, led by, and governed by the principles and nature of socialism reflected in its three aspects{{spaced ndash}}ownership, organization, and distribution{{spaced ndash}}for the goal of a prosperous people in a strong nation characterized by democracy, fairness, and civilization."<ref name="NPHSPS"/> There are multiple forms of ownership in a socialist-oriented market economy. Economic sectors operate in accordance with the law and are equal under the law in the interest of co-existence, cooperation and healthy competition.<ref name="NPHSPS"/> Nguyễn Phú Trọng said,

<blockquote>"The state economy plays a key role; the collective economy is constantly consolidated and developed; the private economy is one of the driving forces of the collective economy; multiple ownership, especially joint-stock enterprises, is encouraged; the state and collective economies provide a firm foundation for the national economy. The relations of distribution ensure fairness, create momentum for growth, and operate a distribution mechanism based on work results, economic efficiency, contributions by other resources, and distribution through the social security and welfare system. The State manages the economy through laws, strategies, plans, policies, and mechanisms to steer, regulate, and stimulate socio-economic development."<ref name="NPHSPS"/></blockquote>

Unlike in capitalist countries, a socialist-oriented market economy does not "wait for the economy to reach a high level of development before implementing social progress and fairness, nor 'sacrifice' social progress and fairness to the pursuit of mere economic growth."<ref name="NPHSPS"/> Policies are enacted for the sole purpose of improving the people's standard of living.<ref name="NPHSPS"/>

===The role of classical Marxism===
] texts still play a prominent role in the Communist Party's ideological development. '']'' written by ] and ] is considered an "immortal work".<ref name="communistmanifesto"/> According to the party, the real value of the ''The Communist Manifesto'' is not that it can provide answers to present revolutionary problems, but the way it explains the gradual liberation of the working class and labourers. It functions as a basis for the most basic theoretical beliefs upheld by the party. According to ], currently a member of the ], "By participating in the process of globalization complete with its opportunities and challenges, as was predicted by Marx and Engels in the ''Manifesto'', the Vietnamese Communist Party and people will further find guidelines for a precious world outlook and methodologies. Sustainable values of this immortal theoretical work and political platform will remain forever."<ref name="communistmanifesto">{{cite web | url = http://www.dangcongsan.vn/cpv/Modules/News/NewsDetail.aspx?co_id=28340644&cn_id=443288 | title = Sustainable value and significance of the Communist Manifesto | author = ] | date = 8 March 2007 | publisher = ] of the Communist Party of Vietnam | accessdate = 4 November 2012 | language = }}</ref> ] wrote,

<blockquote>The reality of Vietnam after the revolution is different from what I imagined when I joined the party&nbsp;...&nbsp;Life has shown us that it is much more complicated. The thing is, we received Marxism in a theoretical sense, not in a full sense, and the information was not very precise. Marxism came to Vietnam through the interpretation of ] and ]. It was simplified to a great extent. And now we read the classic works of Marx and other founders, and we find that things were not so simple. Though the social conditions under which Marx wrote his works are not the same as now, the principles are the same. Yet those principles were not interpreted precisely correctly."{{sfn|Elliott|2012|p=60}}</blockquote>

==Organization==
Organization of the Communist Party of Vietnam is stipulated in the charter party, the regulations, the text of the Central Executive Committee, ... Powers of the Central Committee, the members of the Central Committee, Politburo, Secretariat and the General Secretary and the members of the Politburo and the Secretariat, the member Standing of the Secretary regulations in regulations of the Central Committee. Since 10th central committee, politburo members are the President, Prime Minister, President of the National Assembly are specified separately (as General Secretary, Permanent Secretariat) - see: ''Working Regulation of the Central Committee''.

===National Congress===
{{main|National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}
The National Congress is the party's highest organ,{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|p=56}} and is held once every five years. Delegates decide the direction of the party and the Government at the National Congress. The Central Committee is elected,{{sfn|Ashwill|Thai|2005|p=47}} delegates vote on policies and candidates are elected to posts within the central party leadership. After decisions taken at the National Congress are ratified, the congress is dissolved. The Central Committee implements the decisions of the National Congress during the five-year period between congresses. When the Central Committee is not in session, the Politburo implements the policies of the National Congress.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|p=56}}

===Central Committee===
{{Politics of Vietnam}}
{{main|Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam|11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}

The Central Committee is the CPV's most powerful institution.{{sfn|East|Thomas|2003|p=574}} It delegates some of its powers to the ] and the ] when it is not in session.{{sfn|Rowley|2008|p=187}} It appoints the president, the chairman of the National Assembly and the prime minister, but the appointments have to be approved by the National Assembly. When the ] ended in 1975, the Vietnamese leadership, led by ], began to centralize power. This policy continued until the ], when ] took power. Linh pursued a policy of economic and political decentralization.{{sfn|Abuza|2001|p=9}} The party and state bureaucracy opposed Linh's reform initiatives; because of this, Linh tried to win the support of provincial leaders, causing the powers of the provincial chapters of the CPV to increase in the 1990s. The CPV lost its power to appoint or dismiss provincial-level officials in the 1990s; ] tried to wrestle this power back to the centre during the 1990s without success. These developments led to the provincialization of the Central Committee; for example, increasing numbers of Central Committee members have a background in provincial party work.

Because of these changes, power in Vietnam has become increasingly devolved.{{sfn|Abuza|2001|p=10}} The number of Central Committee members with a provincial background increased from 15.6 percent in 1982 to 41 percent in 2001. The current President of Vietnam, ], was directly elected from the provinces at the eighth Party Congress in 1996.{{sfn|Abuza|2001|p=11}} Because of the devolution of power, the powers of the Central Committee have increased substantially; for example, when a two-thirds majority of the Politburo voted in favour of retaining ] as General Secretary, the Central Committee voted against the Politburo's motion and voted unanimously in favour of removing him from his post of General Secretary.{{sfn|Abuza|2001|p=12}} The Central Committee did this because most of its members had a provincial background, or were working in the provinces. These members were the first to be affected when the economy began to stagnate during Lê Khả Phiêu's rule.{{sfn|Abuza|2001|pp=11–12}} The Central Committee elects the Politburo in the aftermath of the Party Congress.{{sfn|Van|Cooper|1983|p=69}}

Now, agencies to advise and assist: Central Office, Central Organizing Committee, Central Inspection Commission, Central Economic Committee, Central Propaganda Committee, Central Public Relations Committee, Central Internal Affairs Committee, Central External Relations Committee, foreign Committee.

====General Secretary====
{{main|General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}
The General Secretary of the Central Committee is the highest office within the Communist Party,{{sfn|Taylor|2004|p=43}} is elected by the Central Committee, and can can remain in post for two five-year terms. The General Secretary presides over the work of the Central Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, is responsible for issues such as defence, security and foreign affairs, and chairs meetings with important leaders.<ref name="charter">{{ cite web | url = http://www.cpv.org.vn/cpv/Modules/News/NewsDetail.aspx?co_id=30106&cn_id=443473 | title = Điều lệ Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam thông qua tại Đại hội đại biểu toàn quốc lần thứ XI của Đảng | trans_title = Charter of the Communist Party of Vietnam which was approved at the 11th National Congress | publisher = ] of the Communist Party of Vietnam | author = | accessdate = 26 October 2012 }}</ref> The General Secretary holds the post of Secretary of the ], the party's highest military affairs organ.{{sfn|Porter|1993|p=83}}

====Politburo====
{{main|Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}
The Politburo the highest organ of the Communist Party between Central Committee meetings, which are held twice a year. The Politburo can implement policies which have been approved by either the previous Party Congress or the Central Committee. It is the duty of the Politburo to ensure that resolutions of the Party Congress and the Central Committee are implemented nationally. It is also responsible for matters related to organization and personnel, and has the right to prepare and convene a Central Committee ].<ref name="charter"/> The Politburo can be overruled by the Central Committee, as happened in 2001 when the Politburo voted in favour of retaining Lê Khả Phiêu as General Secretary; the Central Committee overturned the Politburo's decision, dismissed Lê from politics, and forced the Central Committee to elect a new General Secretary after the ninth National Congress.{{sfn|Abuza|2001|p=12}}

The members of the Politburo are elected and given a ranking by the Central Committee immediately after a National Party Congress.{{sfn|Stern|1993|pp=3–4}} According to David Koh, the Politburo ranking from the first plenum of the 10th Central Committee onwards, is based upon the number of approval votes by the Central Committee. ], the ], was ranked second in the ] because he received the second-highest number of approval votes. ] was ranked lowest because he received the lowest approval vote of the 10th Central Committee when he stood for election to the Politburo.{{sfn|Koh|2008|p=666}} The ] was elected by the Central Committee after the ] and consists of 14 members. Decisions within the Politburo are made through collective decision-making.<ref name="charter"/>

Since 10th Central Committee, the duties and responsibilities of the members of the Politburo and those of the General Secretary, President, Prime Minister, the Chairman of the National Assembly and the Permanent member of the Secretariat have been specified separately.<ref>http://123.30.190.43:8080/tiengviet/tulieuvankien/vankiendang/details.asp?topic=191&subtopic=9&leader_topic=990&id=BT1471157782| Thông báo Hội nghị lần thứ hai Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng khóa XI</ref>

====Secretariat====
{{main|Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}
The Secretariat is headed by the General Secretary and decisions within it are made through collective decision-making . The Secretariat is elected and the membership size is decided by the Central Committee immediately after the National Congress.<ref name="charter"/> It is responsible for solving organizational problems and implementing the demands of the Central Committee. The Secretariat oversees the work of the ].{{sfn|Porter|1993|pp=66–67}} It is also responsible for inspecting and supervising the implementation of resolutions and directives on fields regarding the party on economic, social, defence, security and foreign affairs, and it is directly responsible for the coordination of a number of party bodies. The Secretariat supervises the preparation for issues raised at Politburo meetings.<ref name="charter"/>

====Central Military Commission====
{{main|Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}
The Central Military Commission is appointed by the Politburo and includes members from the military. The commission is responsible to the Central Committee and between meetings, the Politburo and the Secretariat. The Secretary of the Central Military Commission is the party's General Secretary while the post of Deputy Secretary is held by the ]. The commission can issue guidelines on military and defence policies, and has leadership in all aspects of the military. The ] is subordinate to the commission.<ref name="charter"/>

====Central Inspection Commission====
{{main|Central Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}
The Central Inspection Commission is the party organ responsible for combating corruption, disciplining members and wrongdoing in general. It is the only organ within the party which can sentence or condem party members.{{sfn|Stern|1993|p=64}} The Commission, and its chairman and deputy chairman, are elected by the first plenum of the Central Committee after a National Party Congress. Due to the party's policy of democratic centralism, a local inspection commission can only investigate a case if the inspection commission directly superior to it consents to the investigation.<ref name="charter"/>

==Foreign relations==
In a resolution of the ], it was decided to renovate and strengthen the party's foreign policy. {{As of|2010}}, the Commission for External Relations of the Central Committee has good relations with 222 political parties in 115 countries. According to the party, this is an "important contributions to accelerating the renovation process, industrialization and modernization of Vietnam."<ref name="foreignrelations"/> The party does not only have foreign relations with communist parties; relations with non-communist parties have been established because their countries are economically important to Vietnam. Relations with other communist and workers parties are very important, and are built on "solidarity, friendship, mutual support in the struggle for socialism in the spirit of Marxism-Leninism and pure internationalism of the working class."<ref name="foreignrelations"/> It exchanges views with such parties on theoretical and practical issues regarding socialist construction, party building and current problems.<ref name="foreignrelations">{{cite web | url = http://english.tapchicongsan.org.vn/Home/PrintStory.aspx?distribution=246&print=true | title = Communist Party of Viet Nam Holds 10th National Congress | author = ] | date = 18 December 2010 | publisher = ] of the Communist Party of Vietnam | work = ] | accessdate = 3 November 2012 }}</ref> The CPV is active in international communist and workers party gatherings, such as the ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://en.vietnamplus.vn/Home/VN-attends-meeting-of-communist-parties/201112/22872.vnplus | title = VN attends meeting of communist parties | author = ] | date = 11 December 2011 | publisher = Vietnamplus.vn | accessdate = 3 November 2012 }}</ref>

The party has emphasized the importance of relations with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the ]. It also maintains good relations with the ], the ], and the ]. The CPV sent delegations to the 8th Congress of the ] in 2008, the 5th Congress of the ] in 2008, the 20th Congress of the ] in 2008, the 9th ] in 2008, the 18th Congress of ] in 2009, the 9th Congress of the ] in 2009, the 18th Congress of the ] in 2009, the 8th Congress of the ] in 2009, the 12th Congress of the ] in 2009 and that of the ] in 2010.<ref name="foreignrelations"/>

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite article |author=Abuza, Zachary|title=The Lessons of Le Kha Phieu: Changing Rules in Vietnamese politics|date=16 November 2001|publisher=Vietnamese Professionals of America. ]|accessdate=14 April 2012|ref=CITEREFAbuza2001}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Ashwill | first1 = Mark | last2 = Thai | first2 = Ngoc Diep | title = Vietnam Today: A Guide To A Nation At A Crossroads | ref = harv | publisher = Intercultural Press | year = 2005 | isbn = 9781931930093 }}
* {{cite book | last = Brocheux | first = Pierre | title = Ho Chi Minh: a Biography | ref = harv | publisher = ] | year = 2007 | isbn = 9780521850629 }}
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* {{cite book | last1 = East | first1 = Roger | last2 = Thomas | first2 = Richard | title = Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders | ref = harv | publisher = ] | year = 2003 | isbn = 9781857431261 }}
* {{cite book | last1 = Elliott | first1 = David W.P. | title = Changing Worlds: Vietnam's Transition from Cold War to Globalization | ref = CITEREFElliott2012 | publisher = ] | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0195383348 }}
* {{cite book | last = Gillespie | first = John Stanley | title = Transplanting Commercial Law Reform: Developing a 'Rule of Law' in Vietnam | ref = harv | publisher = ] | year = 2006 | isbn = 9780754647041 }}
* {{ cite book | last = Hyunh | first = Kim Khanh | title = Vietnamese Communism, 1925–1945 | publisher = ] | year = 1986 | isbn = 9780801493973 | ref = CITEREFHyunh1986 }}
* {{cite book | last = Jeffries | first = Ian | title = Socialist Economies and the Transition of the Market: A Guide | ref = CITEREFJeffries1993 | publisher = ] | year = 1993 | isbn = 9780415075800 }}
* {{cite book | last = Kolke | first = Gabriel | title = Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience | ref = CITEREFKolke1994 | publisher = New Press | year = 1994 | isbn = 9781565842182 }}
* {{ cite book | author = Largo and others | title = Vietnam: Current Issues and Historical Background | publisher = Nova Publishers | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-1590333686 | ref = CITEREFLargo2002 }}
* {{cite book | last = Leifer | first = Michael | title = Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia | ref = CITEREFLeifer1994 | publisher = ] | year = 1994 | isbn = 9780415042192 }}
* {{ cite book | last = Porter | first = Gareth | title = Vietnam: The Politics of Bureaucratic Socialism | publisher = ] | year = 1993 | isbn = 9780801421686 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite book | last = Quinn-Judge | first = Sophie | title = Ho Chi Minh: The Missing Years, 1919–1941 | ref = harv | publisher = ] | year = 2002 | isbn = 9780520235335}}
* {{cite book | last = Reis | first = Nadine | title = Tracing and Making the State: Policy Practices and Domestic Water Supply in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam | ref = CITEREFReis2012 | publisher = LIT Verlag Münster | year = 2012 | isbn = 9783643901965 }}
* {{cite book | last = Rowley | first = Chris | title = The Changing Face of Management in South East Asia | ref = harv | publisher = ] | year = 2008 | isbn = 9780415405447 }}
* Smith, R.B., "The Foundation of the Indochinese Communist Party, 1929-1930," ''Modern Asian Studies,'' vol. 32, no. 4 (Oct. 1998), pp.&nbsp;769–805.
* {{ cite book | last = Stern | first = Lewis | title = Renovating the Vietnamese Communist Party: Nguyen Van Linh and the Programme for Organizational Reform, 1987–91 | publisher = ] | year = 1993 | isbn = 978-9813016552 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite book | last1 = Stuart-Fox | first1 = Martin | title = A History of Laos | ref = CITEREFStuart-Fox1997 | publisher = ] | year = 1997 | isbn = 9780521597463 }}
* {{cite book | last1 = Van | first1 = Canh Nguyen | last2 = Cooper | first2 = Earle | title = Vietnam under Communism, 1975–1982 | ref = harv | publisher = ] | year = 1983 | isbn = 9780817978518 }}
* {{cite book | author = Võ, Nhân Trí | title = Vietnam's Economic Policy since 1975 | ref = CITEREFVõ1990 | publisher = ] | year = 1990 | isbn = 9789813035546 }}
* {{cite book|last=Zinn|first=Howard|title=A People's History of the United States: 1492-present|publisher=Harper Perennial|year=1995|location=New York|ref=CITEREFZinn1995|isbn=0-06-092643-0}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*
* , CPV official party newspaper.
* Nhân Dân. <small>—Index to group of articles on Vietnamese revolutionary history.</small>
* U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, www.cia.gov/

{{Vietnamese political parties}}
{{Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}

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Revision as of 00:30, 27 March 2013

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