ROUSSEAU'S THEORY OF DEMOCRACY AND ITS RELATION TO DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM

Samenvatting

Since ancient times, democracy has played a crucial role in political life. It is associated with essential values such as freedom and equality. The value of democracy is widely recognized, but in terms of form, democracy does not have any general pattern. It is for this reason that democracy in each country is organized differently, leading to the situation where some countries do not fully appreciate the democracy of another country or use their democracy to evaluate and condemn the democracy of another country. This is a considerable barrier to integration and cooperation for mutual development. The people of Vietnam are peace-loving people who wish to cooperate for mutual development with all friendly countries, but Vietnam's foreign relations face many obstacles because of its political characteristics. Democracy in Vietnam was established by President Ho Chi Minh very early, in accordance with the country's own political and historical conditions. Democracy in Vietnam has both a unified and specific connotation compared to the general theory of democracy. The practice of Vietnam's democracy over the years shows that this "specificity" not only does not "distort" democracy but also contributes to enriching and deepening the theory of progressive democracy. The article attempts to analyze Rousseau's theory of democracy in order to clarify common human values about democracy. At the same time, it relates to democracy in Vietnam, thereby aiming to clarify that Vietnamese democracy is a progressive democracy that contributes to the protection and promotion of human rights and civil rights, freedom, and peace in the world. All of this aims to contribute to the improvement of mutual understanding and respect, promoting the spirit of "openness" to international cooperation and dialogue for mutual development in today's era.