| This dissertation examines the development of South Vietnamese politics from 1953 to 1956 in its international perspective. Original archival research in French, English, and Vietnamese language materials provides the basis for a reexamination of Ngo Dinh Diem's rise to power, the nature of his nation-building efforts, and the roles played by France and the United States in the early development of the Republic of Vietnam. This study privileges the previously neglected Hoa Hao and Cao Dai religious sects and the Binh Xuyen political sect as significant South Vietnamese figures in this period of political transition. Documentary evidence reveals that Diem's decision to exclude sect representatives and other political competitors from his government, and the manner in which he pursued this policy, contributed to the eventually fatal unpopularity of his regime. Most French and a handful of American observers warned Eisenhower's regime of this danger from the outset, but Washington insisted on continuing its policy support Diem for moral, rather than pragmatic reasons. |
