Last week, Vietnam’s legislature passed an amendment that reinforces the need to continue to reduce the role of the military in business in the country. Though the move does represent the latest in a series of steps taken by the country to address a longtime challenge, it also obscures the difficult political and economic realities that remain on this front.

Not unlike several other Southeast Asian states – from Myanmar all the way down to Indonesia –  the military’s role in business in Vietnam remains a significant and often underappreciated challenge. Focus on the subject tends to wax and wane, with discrete developments, such as disputes over particular tracts of land or individual pieces of legislation, driving occasional interest rather than a fuller understanding of this as a systemic and pervasive challenge. Tiếp tục đọc “Can Vietnam Get Its Military Out of Business?” →