A Number of Issues in Usage of the Terms of Nation and Ethnicity in Vietnam at Present

Abstract

The concepts or terms “nation”, “ethnicity” has been used popularly since a long time ago in Vietnam in the scientific studies, publications and political, legal texts of the Vietnamese Communist Party and State. However, up to now, there has been a divergence in ways of understanding and using the terms “nation” and “ethnicity”. This divergence has caused a lot of difficulties for the researchers as well as the managers in operations of scientific research, policy design, international integration and so on. From the ethnological/anthropological approach, this writing deals with the practical situation of understanding and using the terms “nation” and “ethnicity” in Vietnam at present.