The Politics of the South Vietnamese Student Movement: Competing Nationalisms and Cold War Influences
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61462/cujss.v54i2.3832Keywords:
Cold War, Second Indochina War, student movements, nationalism, South VietnamAbstract
The purpose of this research is to examine the politics of the student movement in South Vietnam during the Cold War, as well as the intricate and dynamic nationalism that emerged from the students' social and political activities. This research encompasses three primary topics: the evolution of the student movement in South Vietnam, the cultivation and management of education by the Saigon government with support from the United States, and the various student movement factions associated with political and social transformations since the establishment of the Republic of Vietnam. This research employs historical approaches by examining primary and secondary sources from both Vietnam and America including newspapers, journals, poems, songs of the South Vietnamese students. The study's findings revealed that there were two distinct eras of the student movement: the First Republic, led by Ngo Dinh Diem, and the Second Republic, headed by Nguyen Van Thieu. The student movement was multifaceted and intricate, not solely focused on advocating for political philosophy, but rather influenced by the prevailing domestic political issues, as South Vietnam experienced significant political turmoil amid escalating violence and warfare. These elements influenced both the state's retaliatory actions and the mode of student activity. The student movement comprised several factions, some collaborating with the state while others opposed it. With the help of the United States, education was liberalized, which greatly accelerated the expansion of the student movement. South Vietnamese students exhibited nationalism not just by opposing the government and America, but also by striving to construct a nation amidst the backdrop of war and challenging the authoritarian regime through discussions on nation-building, patriotism, and the influence of native and foreign cultures. Nevertheless, following 1975, the Vietnamese student movement ceased to have a political impact comparable to its position during the Cold War.
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