On the Western scholars' perspective on “power vacuum” and the “opportunity-seizing” capacity of Vietnam revolutionary forces in the 1945 August Revolution

Abstract

The 1945 August Revolution successfully overthrew colonialism, feudalism and led to the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam – the new revolutionary state in Vietnam. The 1945 August Revolution was a significantly historical victory in the cause of national construction and defense of the Vietnamese people. The victory resulted from promoting national strength up from that of the time, in which the national strength under the leadership of the Indochinese Communist Party and leader Ho Chi Minh played a decisive role. However, many Western scholars have different points of view in doing research and studies on this historical event. Many Western scholars believe that there was a “power vacuum” in Vietnam; thereby, Vietnam revolutionary forces moved quickly to fill the power vacuum, launching the August Revolution and won by luck not by their own strength. The paper focuses on assessing the view-points of Western scholars on “power vacuum” at its true worth, while confirming the important role of Vietnam revolutionary forces in “seizing the opportunity” to get hold of power in the 1945 August Revolution.