Business associations and the politics of contained participation in Vietnam

Abstract

The development of the private sector in Vietnam since the mid-1990s has accompanied the emergence of organised business interests, which is recognised as vital to pursuing the agenda of economic modernisation. This article aims to explore the significance of the interactions between the state and business associations representing small-and-medium enterprises. It demonstrates that business associations have transformed state–business relations in a way that is distinguishable from state corporatism or societal pluralism. The analysis examines the interplay between state actors and emerging non-state entities, and the deliberative capacity of intermediary organisations in the policy-making process, specifically through the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. It is argued that this process constitutes a new mode of political participation that reflects the entanglement of the state and private capital interests. It reveals features of contained participation and contributes to the research agenda on deliberative and governance practices in post-socialist transitional economies.

越南私有部门自1990年代中期以来的发展，伴随着管理有组织商业利益的立法的出台。而有组织的商业利益被视为实现经济现代化的关键。本文探讨了国家与商业协会在为中小企业打造适宜市场环境方面所进行的互动。商业协会成为具有战略意义的政治主体，以一种不同于国家统合主义或社会多元主义的方式改写了政府和商业的关系。本文探讨了国家主体与新兴非国家实体之间的相互作用，并评价了中间组织——尤其像越南中小企业协会——在政策制定过程中的协商能力。作者认为，该过程造成了一种新的政治参与方式，反映了国家和私人资本利益之间的纠结。它还揭示了其中所包含的参与的诸特点，并对于研究后社会主义转型经济体中出现的协商及治理实践，或能起到抛砖引玉的作用。

Keywords:

• business associations
• small-and-medium enterprises
• Vietnam
• political participation
• state–business relations

Notes

¹The author is responsible for the translation of materials from this source in this and the following sections.