IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION ON VIETNAM’S CULTURAL PRESERVATION IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION AND THEIR IMPLICATION ON VIETNAM PUBLIC SECURITY’S FORCE

Vietnam’s cultural identity is the sustainable, defining cultural traits of the community in it, nurtured through the history of thousands of years of struggle to build and defend the country. That characteristic is not fixated. New traits of property are molded, formed, and accreted following the exchange and transformation between cultures. Today, increasing globalization leaves its presence in every aspect of our ​​social life, including culture. This cultural interaction has posed certain positive and negative impacts, opportunities, and challenges for the formation of a progressive Vietnamese culture imbued with national cultural characteristics. However, these impacts also present specific problems for the public security forces.

  1. An overview of Vietnamese national cultural identity

National cultural identity is the myriad of unique elements of a culture, creating a force to unite, maintain, and develop the life of a nation. These are values ​​that reflect and define the appearance, tradition, qualities, temperament, lifestyle, way of thinking, ambitions, and symbols of each nation. It is a set of values ​​and lifestyles ​​based on the personality and psychology of a nation or community. National cultural identity lays the foundation for characterizing different ethnic groups or differentiate one country from another.

Cultural identity is the sum of the principle, distinctive and sustainable characteristic ​​of the national culture, formed, existed, and developed throughout the course of history of the country. Cultural traditions are values ​​passed down by history, inherited and promoted by the following generations, creating a continuous flow of cultural history.

The national cultural identity of a country has three fundamental characteristics: Firstly, it is one’s individual creation accumulated from his/her grasp of culture that is both national and universal; Secondly, it is a sustainable value system, considered sacred and inviolable; and thirdly, this valued system is preserved and nurtured by the community and passed through generations.

In the Resolution of the Fifth Conference of the 8th Central Committee of the Party on building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture rich in national characteristics, the Communist Party of Vietnam affirmed: “National cultural identity includes the sustainable values, the quintessence of Vietnam that have been nurtured through the history of thousands of years of struggle to build and defend the country”. Lie in the heart of this national identity is a passionate patriotism, a national resilience, solidarity, a sense of connection between communities, individuals, families, villages, and the homeland; it is compassion, tolerance, respect for love, morality, diligence, creativity at work; and is the elegance and righteousness in behavior, simplicity in lifestyle…. Among these traits, patriotism becomes the leading factor in the Vietnamese people’s spiritual values. All the above features join to determine the quality and nature of the Vietnamese people.

All these core qualities represent​​ a Vietnamese soul, imprinted with Vietnamese cultural nuances. They are the force that nurtures the love for the homeland and serve as the glue that holds the Vietnamese peoples together. This explains that, no matter where, far or near, Vietnamese people always look to their homeland and, and thrive to enrich their homeland. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that Vietnamese people preserve and promote their national cultural fingerprint.

  1. Cultural exchange in the history of Vietnam

Based on the indigenous culture formed from the early phases of Vietnam’s history, Vietnamese culture is being enriched throughout history through cultural exchange and acculturation. Cultural exchange and acculturation are the interaction, communication, immersion, and exposure between cultures. When this exchange results in cultural changes, it becomes cultural acculturation.

Cultural exchange fosters fusion, synthesis, and integration among cultures. During this process, different cultures complement and enrich each other, leading to cultural transformation, development, and advancement. There is a combination of “endogenous” elements and “exogenous” elements to support a richer, more diverse, and progressive cultural development. This process requires each culture to embrace its endogenic traits to select the exogenic elements to integrate, to gradually enrich and develop its domestic culture. In welcoming exogenous cultural elements, the social value system and national consciousness play a very important role. It serves as a “filter” to retain existing set of values while receiving different cultural elements, the national culture continues to thrive individually while retaining its nuances. Thus, cultural exchange is the incorporation of foreign cultural elements with those of the target country. This process requires a proper handle of the dialectical relationship between endogenic factors and exogenic factors. These two factors are always interchangeable and are very difficult to separate in a specific cultural entity. Over time, a seemingly external factor may fundamentally erode in properties, confusing with an internal factor. Cultural exchange frequently presents 2 trends: firstly, exogenous factors dominance over and eliminate endogenous factors; secondly, the mutual resonance between the two, with the exogenous factor gradually becomes endogenous factor or subdue fundamentally. There is a dialectic relationship between endogenous factors and exogenous factors, which highlights the need for the target nation to affirm its national identity and cultural traditions. During the exchange process, there’s a possibility for cultural penetration or cultural appropriation.

In Vietnam history, the original indigenous culture has exchanged and acclimated to Chinese, Indian and Western cultures, thus reasserting its value and enriching itself. Against the backdrop of globalization, cultural exchanges take place far and wide, posing many problems for the cultural development of Vietnam.

In other words, cultural development is not only about protecting and preserving national cultural properties, but also about developing, enriching, and modernizing them in the process of international exchange and cooperation. The basis of international cultural exchange should be an equal and open dialogue. The Communist Party of Vietnam has affirmed: “Vietnamese culture is the result of exchanging and absorbing the spirit of other civilizations to constantly improve itself”. Vietnam welcomes integration, cooperation, exchange, and selectively absorbs cultural values from different human civilization. Nevertheless, it must, at the same time, retain and preserve its best​ national cultural traits. The national culture should be able to display the values of its endogenous elements ​​and the capacity to accept exogenous cultural values. This reception capacity illustrates the resilience and strength of the Vietnamese people in the age of internationalization. This exchange process must serve to protect more sustainable cultural identities, and enrich those identities. This approach helps to both preserve and promote national cultural character while acquiring the core of other cultures to accommodate continuous development and elevate Vietnam’s position in the international arena.

A successful and safe cultural crossover requires Vietnam to embrace its national sovereignty and cultural identity. The stronger these internal values ​​are, the more opportunities and greater capability Vietnam will have to selectively interact and work with other cultures. At the same time, this inner force lays the foundation for a healthy selection and collection of different cultural traits; seeking to further “assimilate” these foreign elements and turn them into domestic cultural elements and catalysts for a more developed national culture. Therefore, there will be both cultural intertwining and refinement to avoid cultural assimilation and cultural inappropriation.

  1. The impact of globalization on the preservation and promotion of Vietnam’s national cultural identity

Beneficial impacts

Firstly, as globalization is taking place far and wide, leaving its mark in all aspects of our lives, it has also found its way into our cultures. Globalization fosters common values. Together these values penetrate each country’s development progresses, introducing a “flat world”. A “flat world” is where different cultures have the opportunity to interact, infuse, and communicate directly and strongly. Increasing globalization has narrowed the gap between countries, creating opportunities for countries to actively approach different cultures, creating cultural legacies that can cross national borders to become common intellectual property for humanity.

Secondly, globalization emphasizes the need for each nation to affirm its cultural identity and preserve its national identity. Culture is an internal resource and a driving force for the country’s development. Therefore, during this climate of increasing internationalization, all nations need to affirm their national pride and cultural “fingerprint”. In this age of widespread integration, Vietnam has the opportunity to introduce to the world the exotic beauty and defining values ​​of its culture, contributing to the enrichment of the global culture. At the same time, it also helps Vietnam to acknowledge and amend existing mechanisms and introduce policies in the cultural field to suit the world’s standard practices while complying with Vietnam’s traditional principles.

Thirdly, globalization will further assist the eradication of obsolete, and conservative practices that have existed for a long time since feudalism and the long-gone phase of bureaucratic centralized planning mechanism.

However, globalization does not mean complete homogeneity among all countries. It only generates universal values ​​for different countries while assisting others in promoting their own unique and special set of values. Therefore, maintaining national cultural distinctiveness should avoid conservative and one-sided views in the course of cultural integration.

Adverse impacts

On the one hand, international exchange and cooperation in Vietnam bring about the introduction of several reactionary and depraved cultures, deeply clashing with its fine cultural tradition, leading to the gradual erosion of Vietnam’s national cultural values. This can be vividly illustrated by a rapid emergence of toxic, immoral, anti-progress cultural products that contradict Vietnam’s cultural ideals. These twisted productions surreptitiously penetrate Vietnam, intoxicating a part of its population, especially young people, luring them into downplaying the nation’s fine cultural beauties to become increasingly self-centered, narrow-minded, indifferent individuals who are estranged to national traditional values while becoming deeply dazzled by foreign lifestyles and cultures.

On the other hand, leading capitalist countries are currently trying to take advantage of globalization and use their resources, especially their economic, scientific, and technological leverages to propagate and disseminate its foreign Westernized values, democracy, culture, lifestyle… aiming to turn these into universal values ​​for humanity.

In addition, hostile forces continue to foil “peaceful evolution” plots to further complicate several aspects of Vietnam’s culture scene including ideology, conducts, morality, and lifestyle. While remains invisible to the public eye, these schemes pose a significantly serious threat to underdeveloped countries, especially socialist-oriented developing countries like Vietnam.

This reality has threatened national culture and traditions, shifted moral standards and psychology, twisted traditional customs and life values across social classes, especially among young people and teenagers.

Upon fully acknowledged the features, challenges, and principles of globalization, the Communist Party of Vietnam affirms that to develop a progressive Vietnamese culture permeated with national characteristics in the process of globalization, it is highly important to proactively open the door for global integration while simultaneously adhering to important principles, laying the foundation for a stronger grip of opportunities, overcoming challenges, achieving self-reliance and developing a national culture based on courage and core values

In that context, the Communist Party of Vietnam has clearly stated its views on the construction and development of the country culture in general and the preservation and promotion of its cultural identity in the course of integration in particular. From the “Doi Moi” economic reforms introduced in the 80s to 2016, the policy on cultural development was elaborated in the documents of the Party’s 7th National Congress (1991) to the 12th National Congress (2016). These include several resolutions such as the fourth resolution of the 7th Central Committee on several cultural tasks in the coming years; the fifth resolution of the 8th Central Committee on building and developing a progressive Vietnamese culture rich in national identity; the ninth resolution of the 11th Central Committee on the cultural construction and human development to accommodate sustainable development… Explicitly, the Communist Party of Vietnam affirms that a progressive culture rich in national identity is one of the striking features of socialism. This ideology still withholds its strategic importance, orienting, and directing Vietnam’s cultural development. The ninth resolution of the 11th Central Committee on the cultural construction and human development for sustainable development emphasized: “Building a progressive Vietnamese culture rich in national identity, ethnic diversity, humanity, democracy, and scientific innovation”. At the same time, the Communist Party of Vietnam highlighted the need to create a culture that can truly serve as a strong spiritual foundation of the community, an important inner strength to facilitate sustainable development and ensure solid national protection, from which a strong, equal, democratic, civilized and prosperous nation is born.

Globalization hosts a myriad of opportunities and risks to the development of culture. It is therefore of tremendous importance for each nation to be fully informed and aware of the above issues to devise appropriate strategies. Consequently, maintaining the national cultural identity, adopting the fundamental values ​​of human culture, fighting to defeat assimilation plots should be front and center among all nations, especially those developing countries with rich culture. Globalization also gives rise to a range of challenges regarding the cultural health of a nation, hence the wake-up call to preserve national cultural identity. Vietnamese culture is facing three major problems: adverse effects from reactionary and depraved cultures, the influence of foreign cultural elements, and the gradual loss of traditional values. It is important to develop a suitable cultural integration model based on ethnical diversity and national pride, which is proactive, confident, natural, and open to dialogue.

  1. Implications to the public security forces in preserving and promoting Vietnam cultural identity in the process of international integration

In terms of national security protection, laws and order protection and economic and cultural development should be equally important. Incorporating economic and cultural development with defense and public security agendas has become a consistent view of the Party and State. The Communist Party of Vietnam emphasizes a “combination of the economy, culture, and society with the public security and defense forces and vice versa”, further affirming the relationship between culture with defense and public security works. In particular, in the context of the impacts from globalization, most noticeably with the negative impacts on building a progressive Vietnamese culture, this blend of cultural development with defense and public security agendas is both highly suitable and adaptable.

The People’s Public Security Forces are a particularly vital and reliable armed force of the Party and State, specialized in ensuring national security and maintaining social order. With the aforementioned functions and duties, in the face of impacts from globalization on protecting and preserving cultural identity, the public security forces should focus on the following:

Firstly, the People’s Public Security Forces should take an advisory role in supervising Party and state leaders in the decision-making process and the implementation of policies that further cultural development. The public security forces should contribute to creating a strong culture based on inheriting national core values while adapting to humanity’s cultural legacies; to prevent, uncover, frustrate, and stop cultural invasion plots; to selectively adapt to foreign cultural elements and eliminate obsolete customs and cultural inappropriation.

Secondly, the forces should regularly and constantly review and revise their practice of incorporating cultural development with security and defense fronts. The People’s Public Security Force, by this regularity, should be able to detect arising issues to better introduce and pursue appropriate policies. In particular, attention should be paid to overcoming shortcomings in the composition, dissemination, and preservation of cultural work. In introducing and implementing policies, the forces should beware not to create policy “loopholes” that can give rise to toxic social phenomena or that can be taken advantage of to harm national cultural characteristics or undermine Vietnam’s core values. Moreover, the forces should simultaneously protect the safety of the tangible and intangible heritages with better security for national relics, antiques, national treasures, national historical works, and monuments.

Thirdly, Vietnam public security forces should conduct specialized operations to identify, detect, prevent and combat destructive campaigns from hostile forces, using cyberspace to propagate and destroy the ideological foundation of the Party; to spread wrongful and harmful information and publication; to promote toxic and depraved cultural products, contradicting the Party’s guidelines on culture, and going against the national traditions and customs.

Fourthly, the forces should strictly handle culture-related violations and plots foiled by the enemies to hurt Vietnam’s cultural development; to promote international cooperation in dealing with relevant cases.

Over the course of our history, our founding fathers have steadfastly defended and transferred the invaluable heritage of Vietnamese culture to today’s generation. The entire nation collectively determined to offer their courage and wisdom to protect, inherit and bring a new high to Vietnamese cultural values, so that they can truly become the spiritual foundation, promoting the country’s development in this age of global integration./.

REFERERENCE

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  2. Dinh Hang D. Lý luận văn hóa và đường lối văn hóa của Đảng. Hanoi: National Cultural Publishing house; 2005.
  3. Chi Bao H. Văn hóa và con người Việt Nam trong tiến trình công nghiệp hóa, hiện đại hóa theo tư tưởng Hồ Chí Minh. Hanoi: Nationional Political Publishing house; 2006.
  4. Duy Duc P. Phát triển văn hóa Việt Nam giai đoạn 2011-2020 – Những vấn đề phương pháp luận. Hanoi: Nationional Political Publishing house; 2009.
  5. The Communist Party of Vietnam. The ninth resolution of the 11th Central Committee on cultural construction and human development for sustainable development. Hanoi: National Political Publishing house; 2014.

Major general PhD Cao Anh Dung

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