Sự chuyển biến tư duy đối ngoại của Việt Nam thời kỳ Đổi Mới: Từ bạn - thù cho đến đối tác - đối tượng

Abstract

The distinction between friends and enemies, or between partners and opponents, plays an important role in shaping the foreign policies of countries worldwide, including Vietnam. Before the Đổi Mới (Innovation) period, Vietnam's perception of international relations was strongly shaped by the East-West ideological confrontation. That is the line between friends and enemies was relatively clear-cut. Since the 6th Politburo's Resolution No. 13 in 1988, the Party's foreign policy thinking has gradually shifted toward independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, and diversification of international relations. This transformation was reflected in the adoption of the "partner-opponent" approach in 2003 (further supplemented in 2013 and 2023). This replaced the earlier "friend-enemy" mindset and emphasized flexibility, dialectical thinking, and the interweaving of cooperation and struggle in international relations. On document analysis and the historical-logical approach, this article examines the evolution of this transformation along a consistent logical thread, while also analyzing its achievements, limitations, and the new requirements facing Vietnam in applying the partner-opponent framework in the contemporary international context.