State, War and Revolution in Vietnam, 1945-1954

This project targets a pivotal era in the 20th century history of Vietnam, when political independence was declared, the existing social system overturned, and French attempts at reconquest defeated. A profusion of newly available sources allows me to address key issues of state formation, mass mobilisation, internal conflict and transformations in class and status systems. I also test the hypothesis that revolution and war feed upon each other, accounting for the extraordinary energy released, the deferral of personal gratification, and the extreme peer pressure which enforces discipline. No study of this kind has appeared in any language.