Road to Vietnam : France, the US and the first Vietnam war / Pablo de Orellana.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Orellana, Pablo., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Vietnam--Foreign relations--20th century.

Vietnam.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 258 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

First edition.

Distribution:

[London, England] : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020

Place of Publication:

[London, England] : I B Tauris, 2020.

Summary:

"Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam? What led US policy makers to become convinced that Vietnam posed a threat to American interests? In The Road to Vietnam, Pablo de Orellana traces the origins of the US-Vietnam War back to 1945-1948 and the diplomatic relations fostered in this period between the US, France and Vietnam, during the First Vietnam War that pitted imperial France against the anti-colonial Vietminh rebel alliance. With specific focus on the representation of the parties involved through the processes of diplomatic production, the book examines how the groundwork was laid for the US-Vietnam War of the 60's and 70's. Examining the France-Vietminh conflict through poststructuralist and postcolonial lenses, de Orellana reveals the processes by which the US and France built up the perception of Vietnam as a communist threat. Drawing on archival diplomatic texts, the representation of political identity between diplomatic actors is examined as a cause leading up to American involvement in the First Vietnam War, and will be sure to interest scholars in the fields of fields of diplomatic studies, international relations, diplomatic history and Cold War history."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Figures

Prelude PART I

OUVERTURES

1. The Road to Vietnam: historical debates, and the question of representation Historical debates Constructing diplomatic understanding of France and Vietminh Understanding representation in diplomacy: historical and conceptual requirements

2. Reading diplomatic knowledge: analytics and sources Conceptual developments: Postructuralism, identity, and text Analysing representation of identity in diplomacy: from concepts to methods On the archival trail of the First Vietnam War: sources 3. Diplomatic pathways

PART II

DIPLOMATIC TEXT AND THE WORDS OF IDENTITY

1. The Vietminh rebel alliance: universal rights and self-determination

2. The French Empire strikes back: aggression against ?c L?p 3. Vietminh as Fascists: Vietnam does not exist

4. Vietminh as Communists: 'Moscow's interest in Indo-China'

5. A 'united front' and 'the left-wing trend of the Viet-Minh' 6. D'Argenlieu's 'sudden raising of the Communist bogey'

7. Meeting 'radical Annamese opponents of both France and Japan'

8. Creating Pyle's "Third Force : a truly nationalist government"

PART III

DIPLOMATIC STRUGGLES OVER IDENTITY 1948-1945

1. Late 1948-September 1947: the year of the Stalinist domino France Britain US Vietminh

2. August 1947-September 1946: French intransigence and Anglo-Saxon antipathy France Britain US Vietminh

3. August 1946-April 1945: WWII ghosts and rethinking colonialism France Britain US Vietminh

Epilogue

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781788317290

1788317297

9781788317276

1788317270

OCLC:

1139726151