Confucianism and constitutionalism in Vietnam

Abstract

Early twenty first century Vietnam has witnessed the emergence of constitutional discourse in line with some ideas and institutions of western liberal constitutionalism. This movement has unfortunately led the constitutional discourse to underestimation of the relevance of the local culture.

In Vietnam, Confucianism is an integral component of the national culture. It has a long tradition and has continued to influence on different aspects of the modern society in the nation. As constitutionalism must be ultimately underpinned by culture values and political tradition, the relations of Confucianism to the promotion of constitutionalism in Vietnam should be taken into account.

This account adopts a balanced approach to the relationship between Confucianism and constitutionalism. It supports the integrationist approach, which attempts to marry the best elements of Confucianism with the best elements of western constitutionalism to produce a distinctive form of constitutionalism suitable to the local context. However, to carry out the integrationist project, it is important to determine what can be integrated, and to do this, the integrationist approach must be combined and balanced with the indigenist and critical approaches. On the side of Confucianism, it is necessary to identify constitutionalist elements, and this requires us to, from an indigenist perspective, discover constitutionalist values in the Confucian tradition. On the side of western constitutionalism, it is necessary to, from a critical view, identify its disadvantages and advantages so as to select the most suitable elements for the integrationist project.

General speaking, this study defends the thesis of the positive relationship of Confucianism to constitutionalism with particular reference to the case of Vietnam. The study firstly systematically discovers classical philosophical foundations of Confucian constitutionalism. It then examines the practice of Confucian constitutionalism in imperial Vietnam. Subsequently, it demonstrates the antecedent projects of integration of Confucianism with Western constitutionalism in the modern history of Vietnam. Finally, the study contemplates the possibility of further integration of Confucianism and western constitutionalism in contemporary Vietnam by proposing the Constitutional Academy as a mixed model of constitutional enforcement.

This inquiry is significant in several ways. Firstly, it contributes to our better understanding of the history and development of Confucianism, constitutionalism, and their relationship in Vietnam. Secondly, it can further enhance the scholarship of the intellectual foundations and experimentations of constitutionalism in pre-modern East Asia. Finally, the findings in this study can have implications for further reflection on the global expansion of western liberal constitutionalism in non-western contexts, and the prospects of constitutionalism in an East Asian Confucian context.