Author: John Gillespie, Monash UniversityEastasiaforum – Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party is using the Seven Prohibitions to shut down discussion about liberal constitutional reform. In comparison, constitutional deliberations in Vietnam appear open, vibrant and far-reaching — prompting some commentators to speculate on whether Vietnam is a model for post-socialist institutional reform. But do all types of constitutional discourse translate into institutional reform or are some types of discourse more potent than others? This inquiry has particular relevance in Vietnam, where the discourse in social media has as much influence in shaping the constitution as that in state-mediated forums.

During the debates leading up to the adoption of Vietnam’s 2013 constitution, commentators focused on public calls for liberal institutional reforms. Hundreds of newspaper articles discussed limits to party power, constitutional review and human rights. Much has also been made of Petition 72, a demand for sweeping liberal constitutional reforms submitted by public intellectuals such as Nguyen Dinh Loc, a former minister of justice. These commentators argue that this discourse reveals broad-based support for liberal constitutionalism and law-based governance in Vietnam. Tiếp tục đọc “Bloggers keep the windows open in Vietnam’s constitutional debates” →