Ninety-four years ago, on Feb. 3, 1930, the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) was founded. The party took Vietnam into three major wars with France, the U.S., and Cambodia-China, succeeded in imposing Communist rule over Vietnam, and has monopolized power since 1975. 

The Vietnamese Magazine recently interviewed Professor Tuong Vu, asking for his opinions on the historical foundations of the party and its future leadership in Vietnam. Professor Vu is a political scientist and director of the U.S.-Vietnam Research Center at the University of Oregon. His research concerns the comparative politics of state formation, development, nationalism, and revolutions, focusing on East Asia.