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Hybrid Webinar: Vietnamese Geo-economic in a Polarized Global Economy


Date and Time: Jan 18, 2023 | 2:00 pm-3:30 pm HST

Register for this event via Zoom webinar [new window]

While the first decades of the 21st century have seen a return to hegemonic powers, Vietnam has been recognized by many as an emerging regional middle power, one that has recently been able to affirm its political stand and diplomatically maintain esteemed relations with countries that are at odds between them, in particular the US and China. I propose a three-force geoeconomic framework to explain how the bamboo policy unfolds, and discuss the viability of Vietnam’s geopolitical strategy. Acknowledging that Vietnam is walking a tightrope between the superpowers and the lesser states, will the rope become too thin to manage? Or is the bamboo strategy indeed a new statecraft model for rising regional middle powers that could help them showcase their international status, while confirming their domestic identity.

About the Speaker: Dr. Tung Bui

Dr. Tung Bui is Matson Navigation Company Chair of Global Business and Professor of Information Technology Management at the Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM). As the director of UHM APEC Study Center, Tung has conducted research on promoting National Information Infrastructure and e-commerce development in East Asia, and on cross-border collaboration to facilitate entry of personnel entry and goods and equipment in times of emergencies. Some of his recent work focuses on the viability of statecraft of rising regional middle powers.