The road to reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam has not been a straight or easy one. In the years following the Vietnam War, citizen diplomats—veterans, families of the missing, humanitarians, Vietnamese Americans, and others—led the way, reaching across geopolitical and ideological lines. Governments eventually followed, and the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1995. This report draws on the theory and practice of reconciliation to identify lessons for strengthening the US-Vietnam partnership and advancing reconciliation between other postconflict countries.
Summary
In September 2023, President Joe Biden and General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng announced an upgrading of US-Vietnam relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest level of bilateral ties. This improbable partnership marks the culmination of one of the most underappreciated transformations of recent decades. From bitter enmity during and immediately after a war in which 58,000 Americans and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese lost their lives, the two countries and their citizens have established positive and cooperative diplomatic, trade, and people-to-people relations. This story deserves wider attention, as it provides insight into distinctive American—and Vietnamese—approaches to peacebuilding that offer lessons for other conflicts in Asia and beyond.
The road to reconciliation has not been a straight or easy one. Indeed, for the first decade or more after the military victory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in April 1975, US-Vietnam relations continued on the same tragic path of missed opportunities and misunderstood signals that characterized the previous years of conflict. The key turning points toward normalization and partnership came from ordinary US and Vietnamese citizens—veterans, families of the missing, peace activists, businesspeople, and Vietnamese Americans—who took initiatives to reach out across geopolitical and ideological lines, sometimes at personal risk. Once these civil society–led efforts began to show results, governments followed. While significant aspects of the reconciliation process are not yet completed, undeniable progress has been achieved.
This report applies theories of reconciliation, drawn from the practice of peacebuilding around the world, to the trajectory of postwar US-Vietnam relations. It analyzes both political normalization and societal relationships among Americans and Vietnamese as key aspects of reconciliation. Consistent with the focus of the Vietnam War Legacies and Reconciliation Initiative of the United States Institute of Peace, the report addresses physical legacies of the war such as Agent Orange, unexploded ordnance, and missing persons, as well as the nonmaterial aspects of healing, trauma, and psychosocial recovery. The report concludes with several lessons for policymakers and peacebuilding practitioners for bolstering sustained reconciliation in the future. These lessons are pertinent not only to US-Vietnam relations but also to other countries seeking to transform postconflict anger and resentment into cooperation and even partnership.
About the Report
This report applies theories of reconciliation, drawn from the practice of peacebuilding around the world, to the trajectory of postwar US-Vietnam relations. It is based on a series of dialogues and discussions conducted through the Vietnam War Legacies and Reconciliation Initiative of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Draft findings were presented at the Association of Asian Studies in Boston in April 2023 and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in Hanoi in July 2023.
About the Authors
Andrew Wells-Dang is a senior expert on Southeast Asia at USIP, where he leads the Vietnam War Legacies and Reconciliation Initiative. He joined USIP in 2021 after 20 years living in Vietnam. Carl Stauffer is a senior expert on reconciliation at USIP, where he supports transitional justice, restorative justice, and peace process initiatives. He was born and raised in Vietnam.