The Government and Mistrust: Illegibility and Bureaucratic Power in Socialist Vietnam

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By Ken Maclean ’90

Published Jan. 21, 2016

(University of Wisconsin Press) The Government of Mistrust examines the creation and misuse of government documents in Vietnam since the 1920s to reveal how profoundly bureaucratic dynamics have affected Vietnamese efforts to build a socialist society. MacLean exposes how the mistrust and ambiguity of the bureaucratic system has shaped Vietnamese socialism in surprising ways. MacLean is an assistant professor of international development and social change at Clark University.

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PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
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July 2025

On the cover: Wilton Virgo ’00 and his classmates celebrate during the P-rade.