SJS5- “Is Vietnam on the Verge of Change?”

SJS5- “Is Vietnam on the Verge of Change?”

Source: London, Jonathan D. "Is Vietnam on the Verge of Change." Current History, vol.

    114, no. 773, Sept. 2015, pp. 229-35.

Author Credentials: Jonathan London is qualified to discuss this issue because he is the only author of a Vietnamese language blog written by a foreigner. London’s blog is on Vietnam’s politics. In addition, London has a PhD in Sociology. London has also worked in a few different schools in East Asia.

Summary: In the article, Jonathan London explained that Vietnam has improved greatly over the past decade or two, but there is still room for improvement. London said that “from 1990 to 2010, Vietnam’s economy grew at an average rate of 7 percent...” (London 230). While this is a good statistic, Vietnam’s economic growth has grown since. In addition, to economic growth, technology has greatly increased in Vietnam as well. Many years ago it was uncommon to own a cellphone and have access to the internet, but phone and internet usage has flourished. Until recently, unfiltered information from the internet was only common among people with state power, however many more people are using the internet and other things such as Facebook. All in all, Vietnam has enhanced since a few decades ago and will hopefully continue to improve.

Analysis: The author makes a strong argument about Vietnam’s success in the past decades. London uses many statistics as well as concrete information to back up his idea that Vietnam is on the verge of change. London rarely uses opinions in this article which helps make the article easier to follow and makes the article seem more reliable. I believe that London is a reliable source because of his background in East Asia. Although I found little information about London, he drafted a well-written article with sufficient information to support his thesis. One thing that I think could have improved the article was if London included more information about the actions between Vietnam and the United States, but overall the article was satisfactory.