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ABSTRACT
Borderlands in Southeast Asia have long been considered marginalised spaces occupied by populations that assign greater significance to ethnic solidarity than national consciousness. To date, research has largely highlighted the social dynamics of frontier communities in the context of the recent economic boom and transnational interactions, yet few examine national consciousness. Drawing on a survey conducted with four minority communities in the Vietnam – China borderland, this article investigates nation – state consciousness through perspectives on border and territory sovereignty, citizens’ responsibility in Vietnamese nation building, and in understanding and employing national symbols. We suggest that local minorities’ national consciousness has increased significantly since the 1980s. However, expressed attachments to national identity varied according to ethnicity, gender and age. To enhance consciousness of the nation – state, it is important to make the nation-building project relevant to minorities through education and propaganda, but also through more effective implementation of the state’s development policies.
Acknowledgments
This article is drawn from the ministerial level research project ‘The Consciousness of Nation–State of some Ethnic Minorities at Vietnam–China Borderlands in Ha Giang Province’ of Vietnam Academy of Social Science (VASS), supervised by the Institute of Anthropology, chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh. It was published in celebration of 70 years establishment of VASS (2/12/1953–2/12/2023).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Scott, The Art of Not, ix.
2. Hortsmann and Wadley, Centering the Margin, 1.
3. Eilenberg and Wadley, ‘Borderland Livelihood Strategies’, 59.
4. Horstmann and Wadley, Centering the Margin, 19, 20; Forsyth and Michaud, ‘Rethinking the Relationships’, 2.
5. Hortsmann and Wadley, Centering the Margin, 7.
6. Baud and van Schendel, ‘Toward a Comparative History of Borderlands’, 216; Alvanrez, ‘The Mexican – US Border’, 11.
7. Eilenberg and Wadley, ‘Borderland Livelihood Strategies’, 59.
8. Eilenberg and Wadley, ‘Borderland Livelihood Strategies’, 58.
9. Ishikawa, Between Frontiers, 1.
10. Forsyth and Michaud ‘Rethinking the Relationships’; Turner, ‘Borderlands and Border Narratives’; ‘Forever Hmong’; Turner et al., Frontier Livelihoods; Tugault-Lafleur and Turner, ‘The Price of Spice’; Michaud and Turner, ‘Sinh kế nơi biên cương’.
11. Ishikawa, Between Frontiers, 230.
12. Singh, ‘Identities Beyond Ethnic-Based Subordination’, 16.
13. Miles and Rochefort, ‘Nationalism Versus Ethnic Identity’, 393.
14. Hortsmann and Wadley, Centering the Margin, 19; Ishikawa, Between Frontiers, 232; Miles and Rochefort, ‘Nationalism Versus Ethnic Identity’, 393.
15. Baud and van Schendel, ‘Toward a Comparative History of Borderlands’; Alvanrez, ‘The Mexican – US Border’; Hortsmann and Wadley, Centering the Margin; Eilenberg and Wadley, ‘Borderland Livelihood Strategies’; Forsyth and Michaud ‘Rethinking the Relationships’.
16. Smith, The Cultural Foundations of Nations, 19.
17. Ozumba, ‘National Consciousness, Value Reorientation and Identity’, 149; Boadu and Baddoo, ‘National Consciousness in Early Intellectual Work’, 282.
18. Wilmot, Ideology and National Consciousness, 3.
19. Dang Nghiem Van, Cộng đồng quốc gia dân tộc Việt Nam, 192.
20. The Provisional Agreement on the settlement of affairs on the border between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the People’s Republic of China was signed on November 6, 1991. The main provisions of the Agreement provide for the settlement of disputes between the two countries to jointly protect the border, allowing people in border areas to visit relatives and exchange goods. The two countries opened 21 pairs of border gates and allowed border trade.
21. Ly Hanh Son, ‘Quan hệ dân tộc xuyên quốc gia’, 36; Nguyen Van Chinh, Di cư, đói nghèo và phát triển, 348.
22. The study was initially designed with only the Hmong people in Lao Chai commune, Vi Xuyen district, but because the results of the first study showed that the Hmong people here have few cross-border ethnic relations, the study was expanded to Hmong people in Phu Lung commune, Yen Minh district, which leads of Ha Giang province in frequency of cross-border labour migration.
23. Le Trung Dung, ‘Quan điểm truyền thống cÚa Việt Nam’, 32–41.
24. Giang Huong/VOV.VN., ‘Việt Nam – Trung Quốc’.
25. In each Vietnamese border commune, the commune militia force usually cooperates with the border guard every year to guard the border, and at the same time accompanies the commune’s border patrol teams and the border guards, guiding people to participate in clearing border patrol roads and landmarks, assisting border guards and commune police in checking and monitoring people crossing the border, and so on. Militia and self-defense forces are the armed forces, not escaping from local production. In localities, male citizens aged 18 to 45, female citizens aged 18 to 40, who are in good health are responsible for registering for the militia and self-defense service for a term of 2 years.
26. Interview with staff of Lao Chai Border Guard Station, Vi Xuyen district.
27. Bui Xuan Dinh, Một số vấn đề cơ bán,143.
28. Chu Thai Son, ‘Tăng cường yếu tố văn hóa quốc gia’, 60.
29. Vuong Xuan Tinh, Văn hóa với phát triển bền vững, 131.
30. Ibid, 158.
31. Hung Kings’ myths may have existed locally before the 15th century. Since the later Le dynasty, this national myth was promoted as first kings of Vietnam and the Hung Kings worship was spread to promote the unity between Vietnamese ethnicities (see Hoang Phuoc Huu, ‘The symbols of Hung Kings’, 145).
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Notes on contributors
Thanh Bình Nguyen Thi
Thanh Bình Nguyen Thi is an associate professor of anthropology at the Institute of Anthropology (IOA), Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. She obtained her BA in ethnology at Hanoi National University, her MA in anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and her PhD at the Australian National University. Her research interests are local political dynamics, social change and culture in rural Vietnam. She is former Deputy Director of the IOA and currently is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Anthropology Review.
Tinh Vuong Xuan
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tinh Vuong Xuan is former Director of Institute of Anthropology and Editor-in-Chief of the Anthropology Review, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. He is now Vice Chairman of Vietnam Association of Ethnology and Anthropology. His research interests are ethnic culture and development, ethnic relation and nation–state.
Mui Le Thi
Le Thi Mui is a researcher at the Institute of Anthropology (IOA), Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. She obtained her BA in Educational Psychology at Hanoi National University of Education, MA in Ethnology/Anthropology at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, VASS and PhD in Anthropology at Graduate Academy of Politics and Social Sciences, Shanghai University, China. Her main interests are education and culture of ethnic minorities in Vietnam.