Conversion of land use in Vietnam through a political economy lens

This article applies a political economy approach to processes of agricultural land conversion through analysis of the interests and incentives of key actors within and outside the Vietnamese state; the gap between legal documents and policy implementation; and processes of interaction among multiple stakeholders over time. Data sources include monitoring of official media and blogs, interviews with officials and experts, and direct experience in coalition building. The authors present case studies of successful and less successful local advocacy around land issues. In the discussion and conclusion sections, the article explores the extent to which emerging narratives of farmers‟ rights may challenge the model of economic growth through resource extraction.