Well, I don't study Vietnam (we do the US), but I was there last week.
Probably in terms of future, Vietnam is going to go the same way China is- communist by name, but mostly capitalist.
I've been twice, last March and this March, and one difference was staggering- last year the communist flag was displayed everywhere, but this year the only place we found one was the Reunification Palace. This coincides with Vietnam increasing in popularity as a tourism spot for Americans.
Between terrorism, the lifting of embargoes and the tsunami, Vietnam has become one of the number one tourist spots in a very short space of time. Watching them adapt to being a tourist nation is fascinating.
