Tạp chí Khoa học xã hội vùng Nam Bộ

EXERCISING THE PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO MASTERY FROM A MARXIST-LENINIST PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH

PHAM MINH HOANG — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

From a Marxist-Leninist philosophical perspective, this article views “the exercise of the people's right to mastery (quyền làm chủ của nhân dân)” as a socio-political activity – one of the fundamental forms of practical activity. Therefore, this activity possesses three basic characteristics: a material-sensory nature, a socio-historical character, and a purposeful character. Based on this framework, the article analyses the subject-object-modes/means structure of the exercise of the people's right to mastery. The article emphasises that the people's right to mastery only becomes a reality when it is manifested through verifiable actions, operational mechanisms, and results; the degree of “substantiveness” is determined by socio-economic conditions and relations of interest. From this, the article proposes a general definition and suggests a methodological basis for evaluating the substantiveness of this activity based on the effectiveness of the people's participation and actual impact.

SAILING INTO VIETNAM: MARITIME NETWORKS ACROSS THE EAST SEA AND THE ARRIVAL OF AUSTRONESIAN-SPEAKING POPULATIONS

HUNG HSIAO-CHUN, NGUYEN KHANH TRUNG KIEN — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the arrival of Austronesian-speaking populations in Mainland Southeast Asia through maritime networks across the East Sea. Archaeological, linguistic, genetic and physical-anthropological evidence suggests that seafaring communities from the Philippines and Borneo reached southern Vietnam around 2,500 years ago. Taiwan nephrite (jade), Philippine green mica, pottery and jar burial traditions reveal sustained mobility and cultural interaction. Southern Vietnam became a major hub connecting Island and Mainland Southeast Asia, laying foundations for later maritime polities, including Funan.

INDUSTRY AND DYNAMIC URBAN CHAINS OF HO CHI MINH CITY

BUI DUY HOANG — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The merger of Ho Chi Minh City with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces under Resolution No. 60-NQ/TW in 2025 has led to the formation of a mega-city with the largest economic scale and population in Viet Nam, thereby opening up a new development space of national strategic significance. Rather than simply expanding administrative boundaries, this consolidation creates new institutional and spatial conditions for Ho Chi Minh City to restructure its economic space and reorganise the urban-industrial-service development model toward a more integrated, modern, and sustainable orientation. This paper analyses the role of Ho Chi Minh City as a dynamic mega-city and an emerging growth pole of the national economy from the perspective of spatial planning and sectoral structure. Based on a synthesis of theories on mega-cities, growth poles, and integrated planning, the study elucidates the potential for establishing interconnected urban-industrial-logistics chains linking innovation hubs, high-tech manufacturing, and seaport-energy systems. Accordingly, the paper discusses the challenges of coordinating integrated development across the city and proposes policy solutions to enhance Ho Chi Minh City's leading role as a mega-city in the context of digital transformation and green growth.

CROSS-BORDER ECONOMIC RELATIONS OF THE KHMER COMMUNITY IN TAY NINH PROVINCE FROM AN ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

NGUYEN THI NHUNG — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Cross-border economic relations are among the defining characteristics of ethnic communities living along the Vietnam-Cambodia border. Among the Khmer community in Tay Ninh Province, cross-border activities not only serve as important livelihood strategies but are also deeply embedded in kinship ties, community networks, and cultural norms that have evolved over generations. Drawing on primary data collected from a survey of 100 households, five in-depth interviews, and one focus group discussion conducted in Tay Ninh Province, this study applies Karl Polanyi’s economic anthropology framework to examine the nature of cross-border economic relations. The findings reveal that the economic activities of the border Khmer are not governed solely by the market principle of profit maximisation. Rather, they are shaped by the three fundamental principles of economic integration identified by Polanyi: reciprocity, redistribution, and market exchange. Among these, kinship relations, social networks, and community trust constitute the social foundations that sustain cross-border economic practices, even amid deepening economic integration and increasingly stringent border governance. The study therefore demonstrates the explanatory value of Polanyi’s economic anthropology in understanding the social embeddedness of cross-border economic activities among ethnic minority communities in contemporary Vietnam.

NEGOTIATING FORMS OF CAPITAL IN ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION: INSIGHTS FROM BUSINESS LECTURERS OF A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM

LE THI THUY NHUNG — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As English Medium Instruction (EMI) expands across Vietnamese universities, lecturers face the dual challenge of maintaining disciplinary expertise while navigating the linguistic demands of a foreign tongue. This study utilises Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of capital to explore the professional experiences of eight lecturers at a public university in Ho Chi Minh City specialising in different disciplinary areas, including Finance, Banking, Business Administration, Accounting, and International Economics. Through semi-structured interviews, the research investigates how these lecturers accumulate, negotiate, and convert cultural, symbolic, social, and economic capital within the EMI contexts.

The findings indicate that lecturers perform intensive "invisible labour" to develop embodied cultural capital (linguistic fluency and EMI pedagogy), which they safeguard through the strategic use of objectified capital (digital resources) and bilingual mediation. While EMI provides significant symbolic capital, positioning lecturers as global experts, this prestige remains fragile and dependent on classroom interaction. Economically, EMI offers lecturers higher pay and career marketability but imposes a significant "time cost" that threatens professional sustainability. Crucially, a lack of social capital - specifically, institutionalised peer networks – leaves lecturers feeling like "lonely wolves" in their practice. The study concludes that the quality and sustainability of EMI depend on shifting the focus from individual language proficiency thresholds to institutionalised support systems. Recommendations are made for universities to better support faculties in coping with the demands of EMI teaching and in enriching their capital.

FROM PRESENCE TO VISIBILITY: RESTRUCTURING TOURISM EXPERIENCE IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS - THE CASE OF PHU QUOC

NGUYEN THI BAO HA — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Using Phu Quoc as a case study, this article examines how TikTok and Instagram shape tourism experiences in the platform era. The study employs qualitative content analysis of a purposively selected dataset of 187 publicly accessible TikTok and Instagram posts published between 2023 and 2025. Through a systematic coding process, the analysis identifies recurring visual motifs, tourism practices, and narrative patterns across the two platforms. The findings suggest that tourism experiences may increasingly be shaped before travel by recurring visual motifs and platform-based content. Based on these findings, the article proposes the concept of platform-mediated tourism experience, arguing that in the platform era, digital media should no longer be understood merely as a promotional tool but as a constitutive component of the tourism experience itself.