Vietnam's Post‐Cold War Hedging Strategy: A Changing Mix of Realist and Liberal Ingredients

Abstract

This article aims at improving precision in the theoretical discussions of "hedging" strategy. It proposes a generalizable basket of the strategy's components. It then examines the evolution of Vietnam's hedging strategy since the end of the Cold War based on this framework. The findings show that Vietnam's hedging strategy is a dynamically changing mix of four realist and liberal ingredients (diplomatic engagement, economic engagement, soft balancing, and hard balancing). The most dominant component in Vietnam's hedging has shifted across different periods, as Vietnam reacted to China's movements in the South China Sea as well as changes in the domestic conditions and the external security environment.

Vietnam’ın Güney Çin Denizi Politikası: Çatışma Tırmanma Potansiyeli

“…What is important here is to recognize that China and Vietnam have always had an asymmetrical relationship, but it does not mean that China was able to dictate what it wants from Vietnam. Vietnam's SCS strategy driven by hedging logic in its relations with China can be formulated as "cooperating and struggling" behavior (Tran and Sato, 2018;Do, 2017). As it is understood, this strategy involves contradictory logic to manage the SCS dispute.…”