Aid under fire : nation building and the Vietnam War /
Elkind, Jessica Breiteneicher, 1976-
Aid under fire : nation building and the Vietnam War / Jessica Elkind. - Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, [2016] - 1 online resource (294 pages) : illustrations, map - Studies in conflict, diplomacy and peace . - Studies in conflict, diplomacy, and peace. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-278) and index.
Introduction : building South Vietnam -- "The Virgin Mary is going south" : refugee resettlement in South Vietnam -- Civil servants and cold warriors : technical assistance in public administration -- Sowing the seeds of discontent : American agricultural-development programs in South Vietnam -- Policing the insurgency : police administration and internal security in South Vietnam -- Teaching loyalty : educational development and the strategic hamlet program -- Conclusion : "Ears of stone."
"In the aftermath of World War II, as longstanding empires collapsed and former colonies struggled for independence, the US employed new diplomatic tools to counter challenges to its interests across the globe. Among the most important new strategies was development assistance-the attempt to strengthen alliances by providing technology, financial aid, and administrators to fledgling states in order to disseminate and inculcate American practices in local populations. While the US implemented development programs in several nations, nowhere were these policies more significant than in Vietnam. In Aid Under Fire, Jessica Elkind examines US nation-building efforts in the South Vietnamese state during the decade before the ground war. Based on archival sources and interviews with aid workers, this study demonstrates how the official US aid agency as well as several nongovernmental organizations implemented nearly every component of nonmilitary assistance given to South Vietnam, including public and police administration, agricultural development, education, and public health. Despite the sincerity of American efforts, most Vietnamese citizens understood them to be little more than a continuation of attempts by foreign powers to dominate their homeland. Elkind argues that, instead of reexamining their core assumptions or their approach as violence in the region escalated, US policymakers and aid workers only strengthened their commitment to nation building, increasingly modifying their goals to support counterinsurgency efforts. Aid Under Fire highlights the important role played by nonstate actors in advancing US policies and reveals in stark terms the limits of American power and influence during the period widely considered to be the apex of US supremacy in the world"--
9780813167176 (electronic bk.) 0813167175 (electronic bk.) 9780813167169 (electronic bk.) 0813167167 (electronic bk.) 9780813167183 0813167183 (hardcover ; alk. paper)
22573/ctt1bs88zh JSTOR
United States. Operations Mission to Vietnam.
United States. Operations Mission to Vietnam.
Nation-building--Vietnam (Republic)
Technical assistance, American--Vietnam (Republic)
Intercultural communication--Vietnam (Republic)--Case studies.
Military assistance, American--Vietnam (Republic)
Economic assistance, American--Vietnam (Republic)
HISTORY--Asia--Southeast Asia.
Diplomatic relations.
Economic assistance, American.
Economic history.
Intercultural communication.
Military assistance, American.
Nation-building.
Politics and government.
Technical assistance, American.
Vietnam (Republic)--Politics and government.
Vietnam (Republic)--Economic conditions.
United States--Foreign relations--Vietnam (Republic)
Vietnam (Republic)--Foreign relations--United States.
United States.
Vietnam (Republic)
Electronic book.
Electronic books.
Case studies.
DS556.9 / .E55 2016eb
959.704/31
Aid under fire : nation building and the Vietnam War / Jessica Elkind. - Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, [2016] - 1 online resource (294 pages) : illustrations, map - Studies in conflict, diplomacy and peace . - Studies in conflict, diplomacy, and peace. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-278) and index.
Introduction : building South Vietnam -- "The Virgin Mary is going south" : refugee resettlement in South Vietnam -- Civil servants and cold warriors : technical assistance in public administration -- Sowing the seeds of discontent : American agricultural-development programs in South Vietnam -- Policing the insurgency : police administration and internal security in South Vietnam -- Teaching loyalty : educational development and the strategic hamlet program -- Conclusion : "Ears of stone."
"In the aftermath of World War II, as longstanding empires collapsed and former colonies struggled for independence, the US employed new diplomatic tools to counter challenges to its interests across the globe. Among the most important new strategies was development assistance-the attempt to strengthen alliances by providing technology, financial aid, and administrators to fledgling states in order to disseminate and inculcate American practices in local populations. While the US implemented development programs in several nations, nowhere were these policies more significant than in Vietnam. In Aid Under Fire, Jessica Elkind examines US nation-building efforts in the South Vietnamese state during the decade before the ground war. Based on archival sources and interviews with aid workers, this study demonstrates how the official US aid agency as well as several nongovernmental organizations implemented nearly every component of nonmilitary assistance given to South Vietnam, including public and police administration, agricultural development, education, and public health. Despite the sincerity of American efforts, most Vietnamese citizens understood them to be little more than a continuation of attempts by foreign powers to dominate their homeland. Elkind argues that, instead of reexamining their core assumptions or their approach as violence in the region escalated, US policymakers and aid workers only strengthened their commitment to nation building, increasingly modifying their goals to support counterinsurgency efforts. Aid Under Fire highlights the important role played by nonstate actors in advancing US policies and reveals in stark terms the limits of American power and influence during the period widely considered to be the apex of US supremacy in the world"--
9780813167176 (electronic bk.) 0813167175 (electronic bk.) 9780813167169 (electronic bk.) 0813167167 (electronic bk.) 9780813167183 0813167183 (hardcover ; alk. paper)
22573/ctt1bs88zh JSTOR
United States. Operations Mission to Vietnam.
United States. Operations Mission to Vietnam.
Nation-building--Vietnam (Republic)
Technical assistance, American--Vietnam (Republic)
Intercultural communication--Vietnam (Republic)--Case studies.
Military assistance, American--Vietnam (Republic)
Economic assistance, American--Vietnam (Republic)
HISTORY--Asia--Southeast Asia.
Diplomatic relations.
Economic assistance, American.
Economic history.
Intercultural communication.
Military assistance, American.
Nation-building.
Politics and government.
Technical assistance, American.
Vietnam (Republic)--Politics and government.
Vietnam (Republic)--Economic conditions.
United States--Foreign relations--Vietnam (Republic)
Vietnam (Republic)--Foreign relations--United States.
United States.
Vietnam (Republic)
Electronic book.
Electronic books.
Case studies.
DS556.9 / .E55 2016eb
959.704/31