Mitigating Agent Orange: why and how the Government of Vietnam adjusted domestic policy, mobilised NGOs, and lobbied the United States transnationally

Abstract

From 1961 to 1971 the United States military sprayed approximately 77 million litres of chemical defoliants over one-fourth of South Vietnam. Contaminated with dioxin, the most toxic chemical known to human beings, Agent Orange has devastated not only the ecological environment in Vietnam but also turned millions of Vietnamese people and their descendants into victims of serious illnesses and birth defects. Even today Agent Orange dioxin is still highly concentrated in some “hot spots” and continues to threaten the health of residents, fauna and flora. In this context, this thesis sets out to examine the Vietnamese government’s institutional and policy responses to the Agent Orange problem both domestically and internationally. A qualitative approach was adopted entailing analysis of primary data gathered by interviews as well as a review of official government documents and a survey of academic sources of secondary data. The findings of the study indicate that the Vietnamese government has recognised this problem and has established institutions to address it. But with limited resources to deploy against this widespread and deep-seated health threat, Hanoi has also turned to seeking assistance from other governments and international organisations, particularly the US government. However, diplomatic appeals to the United States have so far failed in the face of Washington’s denial of responsibility for the health threats posed by Agent Orange and refusal to enter into negotiations on compensation for illnesses and deformities. Consequently, the Vietnamese government has initiated a policy of establishing Vietnamese Nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs) which have been able to network with American NGOs in accordance with Keck and Sikkink’s transnational advocacy network theory and Risse’s study on transnationalism and the roles of transnational actors. Utilising classic techniques of lobbying in US domestic politics, these NGOs have substantially changed the prior response of Washington decision-makers from denying any responsibility for compensation toward an acknowledgement of responsibility for Agent Orange dioxin impacts on humans and the environment in Vietnam. This study also recommends further research into the public-private partnership between the US and Vietnam governments and NGOs in providing further assistance to Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.