Known to Americans as the "Vietnam War" and to Vietnamese as "The American War" or "The Resistance War against America," the fighting that took place in Vietnam from 1961 to 1975 took the lives of 58,000 Americans and over two million Vietnamese. For many Americans and South Vietnamese, it was a fight against communism during the Cold War. For the North Vietnamese and its sympathizers, it was a struggle for national independence against foreign imperialism. The conflict produced more than three million refugees, creating Vietnamese diaspora communities all over the world. Having fled communist Vietnam, Vietnamese Americans have become an outspoken diaspora community within domestic U.S. politics.  . 

More than four decades after the war, there is much to be learned from the case of Vietnam. Some issues that we explore include the impact of colonialism and imperialism under Chinese rule (111BC to 938AD) and French colonial rule (1858-1954) as well as Vietnam's own colonial projects and the impact these have had on Vietnamese national identity.  We also examine the legacy of Vietnam's civil wars and foreign interventions, including the role of the U.S. both during and after the war.  We also address issues of Vietnam's reunification after the ‘fall’ or ‘liberation’ of Saigon, post-conflict economic devastation and reform, and how Vietnam has dealt with the issue of refugees.  Last, we explore the intricacies of contemporary relations and conflicts with China as well as how the war is remembered in Vietnam and in the Vietnamese diaspora and how this has impacted ongoing questions of reconciliation across diverse perspectives.