13^th National Congress of Communist Party of Vietnam - Photo: vietnamplus.vn

Tasked with renewing the Party’s leadership modes, the 12^th Party Congress (convened in 2016) advocated “continuing to review the reality, study the theory of the ruling party, clearly define ruling purpose and modes, ruling contents, ruling conditions; promote democracy in the context of a single party in power; risks for the ruling party that should be neutralized”⁽¹⁾. The 13^th Party Congress first time saw the issue of the ruling Party, the ruling modes, the ruling contents officially mentioned in the Party documents.

After five years of implementing this policy, the 13^th Party Congress set a new task: “Continuing to review the reality, study the theory of renewing the Party’s leadership and ruling contents as well as modes in the new context”⁽²⁾. The Political Report clearly states “Renewing the Party’s leadership and ruling modes” as the very first essential task of the 13^th Party Congress in its term⁽³⁾. Accordingly, a new concept, “the Party’s leadership and ruling modes” first appeared at this Congress.

1. Theoretical and practical foundations for forming the new concept of “the Party’s leadership and ruling modes”

The new concept is not merely a mergence of the two concepts, but it originates from theoretical and practical matters as follows:

Firstly, the relationship between the leadership Party and the ruling Party is inseparable.

Leadership is the Party’s mission and essence. When the power had not been seized, the Party led the revolution to the final victory and became the ruling Party. As the ruling Party, the length of its service depended on how well it exercised power. It could be said that good leadership is the condition and the way to become the ruling Party. And as the ruling Party, good leadership is its duty.

Consequently, ruling also means leading as the ruling Party is tasked with leading the State, the political system, and all areas of social life. At the same time, leading connotes ruling as leadership means performing roles and tasks of the ruling Party. Thanks to such a close relationship between the leading Party and the ruling Party, the Communist Party of Vietnam’s leadership and ruling mode are intimately related and clearly inseparable. Deliberately separating the two issues is unpractical and speculative.

Secondly, between the leadership and ruling mode exist similarities and overlaps. 

The Party’s documents and the findings of scientific research and practical activities show that when the government is in power, the Party’s basic ruling modes and the Party’s leadership coincide.

Regarding leadership method

The CPV’s leadership modes include forms, methods and regulations that it applies to govern the political and social systems to implement the Party’s guidelines and policies and finally realize the Party’s goals and ideals.

According to the Platform for National Construction in the transitional period to socialism (supplemented and developed in 2011) and other documents, the CPV governs the society with major modes including platforms, strategies, the orientation of key policies written in platforms, strategies, resolutions, directives and conclusions; communication, persuasion and mobilization campaign; administrative work; personnel work; via party organs and party members in organizations of the political system; inspecting and supervising party organizations and party members in their implementation of the Party’s guidelines and policies; and exemplary activities of party members.

Regarding ruling modes

The CPV’s ruling modes consist of all forms and measures that it applies to govern and orient the State and the political system in implementing the Party’s guidelines and policies to build and firmly defend the nation.

The CPV’s ruling mode is a theoretically new issue. Although it has not ever been specified in the Party documents, recent scientific research findings show that it includes guidelines and policies shown in the Party’s platforms, strategies, resolutions, directives and conclusions; laws; staff work; organizational work; ideological work; party organizations and party members in State agencies and other bodies of the political system.

Those leadership and ruling modes apply similar modes and measures such as guidelines and policies, ideological work, organizational work, staff work, inspection and supervision, party organs, party members and the likes. The only difference lies in the emphasis on one mode or another in terms of ruling or leading.

Thirdly, due to practical requirements

Besides the theoretical rationality, the mergence of these two concepts is attributed to the practical requirements in the research, study, and application of the two essential modes.

Firstly, it is needed to overcome their coincidence.

Between the leadership and ruling modes exist similarities and overlaps, so the concomitant use of these two concepts in recent years has confused the research, application and practice. Expressed in either way, it is still difficult to separate them as many of the contents are similar. For example, the leadership modes rely on communication, organization and cadre work, and so do the ruling modes.

Secondly, it is necessary to ensure ease in understanding and applying the two modes

When integrating similar contents and characteristics of “leadership modes” and “ruling modes” into “leadership and ruling modes”, the new term will refer to both the leadership modes and the ruling modes. In addition, it will help cadres and party members avoid confusion in distinguishing between the leadership modes and the ruling modes, so they can understand and apply the new concept with ease.

2. Contents of the Party’s leadership and ruling modes

As a new concept, the CPV’s leadership and ruling modes is a matter of controversy, therefore it requires further study, clarification, and unification regarding the understanding of the contents. From the CPV’s viewpoint, guidelines and practice of leadership and ruling, it can be thought that the Party’s leadership and ruling modes include all methods, forms, measures, and styles that it applies with a view to grasping, influencing, controlling and orienting the State, the political system and the society to implement the Party’s lines successfully.

Initially, the Party’s principal leadership and ruling modes in use include: firstly, the Platform, strategies, resolutions and orientation of major guidelines and policies for the State to institutionalize into laws, policies, programs, plans and implementation; secondly, disseminating, persuading and campaigning for understanding, supporting, and actively implementing the Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws among organizations in the political system and the whole society; thirdly, administrative work; fourthly, staff work; fifthly, laws; sixthly, party cells in organizations of the political system and the vanguard and exemplary roles of party members; seventhly, inspection and supervision over party organs and party members in state agencies, the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations concerning their implementation of the Party’s lines, policies and guidelines and the State’s laws.

3. Renewing the Party’s leadership and ruling modes

Renewing the leadership and ruling modes is to modify the Party’s leadership and ruling forms and methods to ensure appropriateness and effectiveness, meet innovational needs, and strengthen the leadership of the Party.

In order to renew the Party’s leadership and ruling modes, attention should be paid to:

Firstly, renewing the leadership and ruling modes via Platforms, strategies, resolutions, and orientation of major guidelines and policies.

The top task is to renew and improve the quality of construction, promulgation and implementation of the Party’s resolutions due to their position and role as its fundamental leadership and ruling modes and the reality of promulgating and organizing the implementation. The 13^th Party Congress requests that “Continuing to renew and improve the quality of creating and promulgating the Party’s resolutions. The promulgation should be carried out only when it is essential, reasonable, practical, concise and feasible”⁽⁴⁾.

At the same time, the Party is to renew the implementation of the resolutions to improve the effectiveness and efficiency; continue to innovate the grasp of the resolutions to ensure practicality and effectiveness; focus on resolute leadership and direction, close supervision over the institutionalization, concretization and, implementation of the resolutions; attach great importance to inspecting, supervising, speeding up, and reviewing the implementation of the Party’s resolutions, regulations, directives and conclusions, ensuring effectiveness and efficiency.

Secondly, renewing the leadership and ruling modes via ideological work

The Party must continue to comprehensively renew its ideological work in theory, dissemination and promotion to improve the quality and effectiveness so that the Party’s leadership and ruling roles are exercised, giving ideological orientation to the whole Party and people.

It is of great significance for the Party to continue to renew the contents and methods of its ideological work vigorously, ensuring proactiveness, practicality, timeliness and effectiveness; improve the combat capacity, educational values, and persuasiveness in the dissemination and study of Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts, the Party’s viewpoints and lines, the State’s policies and laws, ensuring the values of the Party’s ideological foundations. A firm grasp of the Party’s lines, guidelines and policies play a key role in the spiritual life of the society.

Ideological work must offer a firm grasp, accurate forecasts, correct orientation, proper and prompt handlings of ideological matters in the Party and the society, clearly understand and correctly orient public opinions, ensuring ideological unity within the Party and high consensus in the society.

It is necessary to step up the practical review, the theoretical research, and the completion of the theoretical system on the national renewal, socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam to ensure the pioneering role and mission in the theoretical research of the Party in power.

Thirdly, renewing leadership and ruling modes through organizational work.

The Party’s organizational work must establish and perfect the organizational apparatus of the Party, the State and other agencies in the political system to ensure strict and smooth leadership over the whole system, areas and society in the new context. At the same time, that organizational apparatus must facilitate the removal of bottlenecks and promote development. Any stage where the organization either lacks reasonableness and the leadership of the Party or slows down development must be reviewed, consolidated and corrected.

The organizational work is asked to ensure the strict implementation under the Party’s unified leadership in the renewal, arrangement and management of the political system’s apparatus and staff; ensure the Central Committee’s centralized and unified leadership and direction, and bring into play the proactiveness and creativity of each level, each branch and each locality; and clearly define the responsibilities of the collective and the individual, especially the leader.

The organizational renewal is expected to further renovate and perfect the Party’s apparatus and political system towards the lean organization, ensuring effectiveness and efficiency together with economic, cultural, social and human renovation, meeting the requirements of improving the Party’s leadership and ruling capacity, perfecting the socialist law-ruled State, a socialist-oriented market economy and socialist democracy. The effort also aims at perfecting the organizational model of the political system, reviewing the pilot models of the structure of the Party and the political system, surmounting the overlaps and irrationalities in the Party structure and the apparatus of the political system, and stepping up the downsizing and restructuring cadres, civil servants and public employees based on their job positions.

Fourthly, renewing leadership and ruling modes via cadre work

The cadre work should have a thorough grasp and strictly implement the Party’s unified view on leading cadre work and managing cadres, and promote the rights and responsibilities of organizations specializing in cadre work in the political system and their leader.

Renovating the Party’s introduction of party members to work in leading bodies of the political system so that these elite party members are both talented and virtuous.

Continuing to issue and implement rules and regulations, mechanisms in cadre work to ensure consistency, synchronization and closeness between stages, communication between levels; focusing on renewing the cadre evaluation regulation to evaluate cadres properly and objectively before using and arranging them, preventing and repelling the possible buying of seats or power.

Renovating elections and selecting and appointing cadres to select right people who have solid political courage, good moral qualities, dynamism, a venturesome spirit, a high sense of responsibility, and daring to face challenges for the common good to hold leading positions, especially the leader.

Focusing on building a contingent of cadres, especially those at the strategic level, equipping them with required qualities and qualifications that are on par with their duties. Building up mechanisms and policies to spot, attract and honor talents.

Fifthly, renewing the leadership and ruling modes via laws.

Continuing to renew and improve the quality of the legislative process, ensure fast, complete, and effective institutionalization of the Party’s lines, guidelines and policies, and improve the mechanism to supervise the State’s legalization of Party resolutions.

Closely linking law making and law enforcement. Focusing on drastic direction, proper investment of resources and conditions to sufficiently perform the tasks of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement, inspection, examination and handling of law violations.

Sixthly, renewing the leadership and ruling modes through party organs in the organizations of the political system and the pioneering and exemplary role of party members.

Continuing to renovate and perfect the organization, improve the leadership capacity and combat capacity of the party committees, party cells, party committee members, and party civil affairs committees in organizations of the political system. Reviewing, amending and supplementing functions, tasks, power, responsibilities and working relationships of party organs of all types to suit the process of renewal and the lean organization of the Party apparatus and the political system. Renovating the contents, modes of operation, and activities of party cells.

Implementing the policy that the party chief is concurrently the head of an agency or unit, the party chief is the chairman of the people’s council at all levels, the party chief is the chairman of the people’s committee, the party cell chief is concurrently the head of a village, a residential group or the head of the front work section if conditions are available.

Enhancing the role and responsibility of party organs in educating, managing, training, examining and supervising party members. Spotting, planning, fostering and promoting the role of elite and promising party members as a source of key cadres at all levels. Attaching great importance to the development of party members as a source of cadres for the political system at all levels. Screening and resolutely expelling unqualified party members who are cadres, civil servants and officers from the Party.

Seventhly, renewing the Party’s leadership and ruling modes via inspection and supervision

Continuing to build and complete rules and regulations to keep disciplines strict and improve the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of the Party’s inspection and supervision. Improving and renovating methods, processes, and skills in inspection, supervision, and disciplining to ensure objectivity, democracy, science, synchronization, unity, prudence, closeness, and feasibility. Focusing on mechanisms and measures for early detection to prevent and stop defects and violations of party organs and party members; issuing sanctions to prevent and strictly handle party discipline violations.

Focusing on inspecting and supervising party organs, leaders and key officials in places of public concern where violations are likely to occur; promptly, resolutely, thoroughly, synchronously and strictly handle violations of party organs and members. Enhancing management, inspection and supervision over cadres and party members, especially leaders and key managers at all levels, to promptly detect and prevent violations from the outset so that they do not become severe, long-lasting and widespread.

Strengthening the inspection committee, the apparatus and officials of the inspection committee at all levels so that they are on a par with the assigned functions, tasks and power.

__________________

Received: November 6, 2021; Revised: December 25, 2021; Approved for Publication: March 24, 2022.

Endnotes:

(1) CPV: Documents of the 12^th Party Congress, Office of the Party Central Committee, Hanoi, 2016, p.217.

(2), (3), (4) CPV: Documents of the 13^th Party Congress, vol.I, Truth National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2021, pp.199, 200, 199.

Assoc.Prof., Dr. NGUYEN VAN GIANG

Institute of Party Building,

Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics