The Road to Vietnam: France, the US and the First Vietnam War

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Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam What led US policy makers to become convinced that Vietnam posed a threat to American interests In The Road to Vietnam, Pablo de Orellana traces the origins of the US-Vietnam War back to 1945-1948 and the diplomatic relations fostered in this period between the US, France and Vietnam, during the First Vietnam War that pitted imperial France against the anti-colonial Vietminh rebel alliance. With specific focus on the representation of the parties involved through the processes of diplomatic production, the book examines how the groundwork was laid for the US-Vietnam War of the 60s and 70s. Examining the France-Vietminh conflict through poststructuralist and postcolonial lenses, de Orellana reveals the processes by which the US and France built up the perception of Vietnam as a communist threat. Drawing on archival diplomatic texts, the representation of political identity between diplomatic actors is examined as a cause leading up to American involvement in the First Vietnam War, and will be sure to interest scholars in the fields of fields of diplomatic studies, international relations, diplomatic history and Cold War history.

Reviews

Insightful and persuasive. * Global Military Studies Review *
The Road to Vietnam accomplishes a remarkable feat: saying something truly fresh and important about the origins of the U.S. embroilment in Vietnam, a topic that historians have investigated from innumerable angles over many years. Through meticulous analysis of evidence from three countries and dexterous use of cultural theory, Pablo de Orellana convincingly shows how policymakers crafted a particular understanding of Vietnam and the countrys significance to the Cold War. In the process, De Orellana models an approach that scholars would do well to apply to other international conflicts. * Professor Mark Atwood Lawrence, University of Texas at Austin, USA *

Author Bio

Dr Pablo de Orellana is a Lecturer in International Relations at the War Studies Department, King's College London, UK.