HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

_______________________

NGUYEN THI HANH

HO CHI MINH'S THOUGHT ON THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF THE STATE AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN BUILDING THE SOCIALIST RULE OF LAW STATE IN VIETNAM TODAY

Major: Scientific Socialism

Code: 62 22 03 08

SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN PHILOSOPHY

HANOI - 2020

The work was completed at: University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Scientific supervisor: Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Van Thinh

Objection 1:

Objection 2:

The thesis will be defended before the National University Council for Doctoral Thesis Evaluation meeting at: University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi At: hour, day, month, year 20

Thesis can be found at:

- National Library of Vietnam

- Information Center - Library, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

INTRODUCTION

1. Urgency of the topic

Perfecting the organization and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the state apparatus is one of the important requirements for building a socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam. The goal is to make state agencies at the central and local levels properly and fully perform their functions, tasks and powers according to the provisions of the Constitution and laws, promoting the democratic nature of the Vietnamese state. Building a rule-of-law state is an inevitable objective trend, but for us this is a completely new task.

The Resolution of the 10th National Party Congress affirmed: The task and path to socialism in our country is to develop a socialist-oriented market economy; promote industrialization and modernization; build a culture that is truly the spiritual foundation of society; build a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people; build a clean and strong Party; firmly ensure national defense and security; proactively and actively integrate internationally.

To carry out these tasks, our Party and State deeply realize that: along with absorbing the universal values ​​of the rule of law state that humanity has achieved, we need to study, inherit and apply the ideological values ​​of Ho Chi Minh on the democratic nature of the State to gradually build a Vietnamese socialist rule of law state with its own characteristics, suitable to the level of socio-economic development, cultural traditions and national identity of Vietnam.

During the years of renovation, imbued with his thoughts, our Party and State have proposed many policies and strategies contributing to the construction of a socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam and have achieved many important successes. However, besides the achievements, the process of studying, researching and applying Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on the democratic nature of the state in building a socialist rule-of-law state in our country still has many shortcomings. Specifically: the awareness of the role and status of the people in the transition period to socialism according to Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on the democratic nature of the state is still incomplete and incomplete. Ho Chi Minh always reminded that our State is a State of the people, our laws are democratic laws, protecting the rights of the people, but the legal system in our country today still has many loopholes, shortcomings, lacking strategy and feasibility. People lack legal basis to fight against negative phenomena, corruption, and infringements on their own and social interests. Violations of the principle of democratic centralism cause internal disunity; consensus solidarity, formal democracy; localism, factionalism, jostling for position, fighting for power; authoritarianism, patriarchy, lack of democracy in leadership and management, and deviation from Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state. Therefore, if these limitations are not effectively overcome, we cannot eliminate the state bureaucracy that negatively affects the people's right to mastery.

Studying Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state has important theoretical and practical significance. It provides us with a worldview and a scientific and correct methodology to counter the distorted arguments of hostile forces in the process of national renewal, and at the same time gives us correct perceptions of the content of the issue of the democratic nature of the state according to Ho Chi Minh's thought, on that basis, correctly and creatively applying his views to building a socialist rule of law state in our country today. For all the above reasons, the researcher has chosen“Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the State and its significance in building the current socialist rule of law state in Vietnam”do your research

2. Research purpose and tasks

2.1. Purpose

Based on the analysis and clarification of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state, the thesis highlights the significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building the current socialist rule-of-law state of Vietnam. From there, the thesis proposes a number of solutions to continue applying Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building the socialist rule-of-law state of Vietnam in the coming time.

2.2. Tasks

To achieve the above purpose, the thesis focuses on solving the following tasks:

- Analyze and clarify the basis for the formation and content of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the democratic nature of the State.

- Summarize some meanings of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building a socialist rule of law state in Vietnam.

- Propose some solutions to continue applying Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building the current socialist rule of law state of Vietnam.

3. Research object and scope

3.1. Research subjects

The thesis focuses on studying Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on the democratic nature of the state. First of all, Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on democracy and the democratic nature of the state are the main research objects. Along with that, the significance of Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on the democratic nature of the state in the process of building the current socialist rule of law state of Vietnam will also be discussed.

3.2. Scope of research

- About content:The thesis studies and summarizes Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on the democratic nature of the State and its significance in building the current Vietnamese socialist rule of law state from a philosophical perspective.

- About space and time:Researching the significance of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the democratic nature of the state in building a socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam in the current reality. In addition, the thesis also looks throughout history to have comprehensive and objective assessments of the research subject.

4. Theoretical basis and research methods

-The research topic is based on the viewpoints of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thought, the viewpoints of the Communist Party of Vietnam on democracy, the state and the democratic nature of the Vietnamese State in building a rule-of-law state. In addition, the thesis selectively inherits the scientific works of previous authors that have been published related to the thesis topic.

- The thesis is carried out on the basis of the general law method of dialectical materialism and historical materialism combined with methods such as: logical - historical method, analytical - synthetic method; comparative method; document analysis method; expert method, etc. The methods can be used separately or combined to solve the tasks of the thesis.

5. Scientific contributions of the thesis

The thesis has presented and analyzed to highlight the content of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the State. Initially, it has generalized the significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the State in building a socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam in the coming time. In addition, the thesis has proposed solutions to continue applying Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the State in building a socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam today.

6. Significance of the thesis

- The research results of the thesis can enrich the scientific arguments of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the democratic nature of the State, the basic contents of the rule of law state and the significance of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the democratic nature of the State in building a rule of law state. At the same time, the thesis contributes to deepening the viewpoints of the Party and the State on building a socialist rule of law state in Vietnam today.

-The thesis provides documents on theoretical basis and solutions for the work of building a socialist rule of law state in Vietnam today; is a reference document for research, teaching and learning of philosophy subjects, political education on Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the State and its significance in building a socialist rule of law state in Vietnam today.

7. Structure of the thesis

In addition to the introduction, conclusion, list of references, published scientific works, list of abbreviations, appendix, the thesis content includes 4 chapters and 13 sections.

Chapter 1

OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH RELATED TO THE TOPIC

1.1. Research works on the basis of formation and content of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the democratic nature of the State

1.1.1. Research in the world

W. Duker (2000): “Ho Chi Minh a life" (Ho Chi Minh a life) [168];Sophia Quinn – Judge (2002): “Ho Chi Minh – The missing years”) [171].Following Ho Chi Minh: The Memoirs of North Vietnamse Colonel, Publisher C. Hurst & Co, 1995, 202 pages. BookHo Chi Minh: A Biography by Pierre Brocheux,Translated into English by Claire Duiker, Cambridge University Press 2003 printed in the United States;Ho Chi Minh: North Vietnamese Presidentby Kristin F. Johnson published in 2012 by ABDO Publishing Company. … Research works by foreign scholars have shown that, along with building and implementing a new democracy in Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh also paid great attention to democratic policies in state building. That is demonstrated through his awareness, behavior, actions and democratic solutions in the process of implementing democracy based on Vietnam's reality in the new era.

1.1.2. Domestic research

In the book "Ho Chi Minh democratic method" by author Pham Van Binh (2007); Book "Ho Chi Minh's democratic ideology" by Pham Thanh - Nguyen Khac Mai (1991) [130],Nguyen Khac Mai(2001), “Onehundred sentencesspeakon democracybelong toHo Chi Minh"[91]. Pham Hong Chuong, Doan Thi Chin (Co-editor) (2016), “Ho Chi Minh's democratic thought",National Political Publishing House, Hanoi [23]; Hoang Chi Bao (2013), “Ho Chi Minh's democratic ideology", Central Theoretical Council, Communist Magazine, Hanoi [8]… In general,

1.2. Research works on the issue of building a rule-of-law state and the significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building a socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam today

In general, the assessments of the authors in these works are only at the general level, not going into the specific issue of the meaning of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building the socialist rule of law state of Vietnam. Therefore, the in-depth study of the current meaning of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state is an issue that needs to be further studied, debated and clarified.

1.3. Research works on measures to continue applying Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building the current socialist rule of law state of Vietnam

General assessment of the research situation of works related to the thesis and thesis issues that need further research

1.3.1. Research results of published scientific works related to the thesis

The first,Democracy is an issue of interest to many researchers and is widely studied at home and abroad.

Monday, studies have focused on explaining the necessity of building NNPQ in Vietnam.

Tuesday, studies have unanimously affirmed that Ho Chi Minh was one of the founders of the construction of a modern Vietnamese socialist state; especially the pioneer in realizing the practice of democracy in state building in Vietnam.

Wednesday,The above research works have provided a large amount of knowledge and information about Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on the nature of the Vietnamese State and on the building of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's rule of law state. However, only a few research works directly address the democratic nature of the state and are mainly mentioned in terms of theory related to democratic content.

1.3.2. Thesis issues that need further research

Firstly, the thesis needs to analyze the basis for the formation of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the democratic nature of the State. Including: practical basis, theoretical premises and subjective factors. This is an issue that previous works have mentioned but have not yet generalized specifically and fully.

Second, determine the democratic nature of the state according to Ho Chi Minh's thought. This will contribute to clarifying the theoretical basis for the thesis.

Third, the thesis needs to outline some theoretical issues on the rule of law state.

Third, from the perspective of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, on the basis of analyzing the domestic situation, the thesis argues the scientific basis, drawing out some meanings of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the democratic nature of the state in building the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam's rule of law state.

Chapter 1 Summary

Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state and its significance in building the current socialist rule of law state of Vietnam is one of the important contents, an integral part of Ho Chi Minh's ideological heritage. Up to now, there have been many works by domestic and foreign authors interested in researching from different perspectives.

In the process of synthesizing documents and the status of research works related to the thesis topic, the author of the thesis generally evaluates the achievements and gaps of published works to raise issues that need further research such as: The basis of formation, some concepts, the content of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the democratic nature of the state, its meaning and the direction to build the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam's rule of law state, etc. These are very important and urgent issues in state building in Vietnam. Therefore, the author chooses the topic "Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the State and its significance in building the current socialist rule of law state in Vietnam"has profound theoretical and practical significance, especially when referring to Ho Chi Minh's thought in the current conditions of building a rule-of-law state.

Chapter 2

BASIS OF FORMATION AND CONTENT OF HO CHI MINH'S THOUGHT ON THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF THE STATE

2.1. The basis for the formation of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the State

2.1.1. Practical basis

2.1.1.1. The national liberation movement in the world

2.1.1.2. Economic, political and social situation in Vietnam

2.1.2. Theoretical premises

2.1.2.1. Good traditional values ​​of the nation

The firstPatriotism has become the driving force, traditional strength, human morality, pride and the leading factor in the table of Vietnamese spiritual values.

Monday, the people-oriented ideology of Vietnamese feudal dynasties

Tuesday,Thoughts of some progressive patriotic Vietnamese intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

2.1.2.2. The quintessence of human culture: East and West

• Eastern ideological values
• The quintessence of Western culture
• Marxist-Leninist theory of democracy and state

2.1.3. Subjective factors

2.1.3.1. Ho Chi Minh's scientific thinking ability and intelligence

2.1.3.2. Ho Chi Minh's political mettle, moral qualities and practical working capacity

2.2. Ho Chi Minh's concept of democracy and the democratic nature of the State

2.2.1. Democracy and Ho Chi Minh's concept of democracy

President Ho Chi Minh has put forward a system of theses on democracy, from its conception to its manifestation in the fields of politics, economics, culture - society... Regardless of the approach, Ho Chi Minh's conception of democracy still has political content, when he always emphasized the issue of the state and the relationship between the state and the people. From this perspective, Ho Chi Minh's conception of democracy can be summarized on the following contents:People are the masters;People are the masters; Go to true democracy.

2.2.2. The democratic nature of the State according to Ho Chi Minh's thought 

Initially studying this issue, we can summarize it into the following basic contents:

First, the state is truly of the people, by the people, for the people.

Second, the state respects the law and is organized and operates within the framework of the Constitution.

Third, the state serves the people and brings benefits to the people. All government activities must aim to bring benefits to the people.

Wednesday,A state of the people, by the people, for the people must have a team of professional, clean cadres and civil servants who are truly servants of the people.

Chapter 2 Summary

His thoughts and views on the state of the people, by the people, and for the people are extremely profound and are the core of Ho Chi Minh's thought. It contains great values ​​in both theory and practice for the Vietnamese revolution; it is a handbook for the cause of innovation, building a socialist rule-of-law state, and expanding international relations to success.

In particular, when studying Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on the democratic nature of the state, it is very necessary to research and clarify the theoretical and practical basis and subjective factors of Ho Chi Minh for the formation of his thoughts on democracy. The basic ideological sources that Ho Chi Minh absorbed such as: democratic thoughts in Vietnamese tradition; bourgeois democratic thoughts of French enlighteners; democratic values ​​in Oriental culture; Marxist-Leninist theories on democracy and the state, Sun Yat-sen's democratic thoughts, and democratic thoughts of patriotic intellectuals of the same time as Ho Chi Minh have also been raised and demonstrated the inheritance and adaptation in Ho Chi Minh's thoughts. In addition, the practical basis with the analysis of socio-economic conditions, the failure of domestic struggles, the influence of national liberation movements of countries around the world, and the process of East-West cultural exchange are the practical bases that changed Ho Chi Minh's thinking. In addition to the basis of forming Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state, we cannot ignore the subjective factor that Ho Chi Minh created a completely new line of thought on democracy.

Chapter 3

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HO CHI MINH'S THOUGHT ON THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF THE STATE IN BUILDING THE SOCIALIST RULE OF LAW STATE OF VIETNAM TODAY

3.1.General concept of building a socialist rule of law state in Vietnam

3.1.1. Concept of rule of law state

Based on the two basic properties of NNPQ mentioned above, we have a very brief concept of NNPQ as follows: “A rule of law state is a state that respects the law and ensures democracy.”. Or it can be understood,The rule of law state is a form of state power organization, in which there is a guarantee and recognition of the supremacy of the law; including the clear determination of legislative, executive and judicial powers, with a complete, clear and transparent legal system, expressing the will and aspirations of the people, ensuring in practice the basic legitimate rights and interests of citizens, expressing the relationship between the state and citizens and vice versa.

3.1.3. Contents of building a socialist rule of law state in Vietnam

Firstly, "Perfecting institutions, functions, tasks, methods and operating mechanisms, enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the socialist rule of law state"[61, p.175].

Second, perfect the organization of the state apparatus from central to local levels in the direction of streamlining, operating effectively and efficiently, serving the people, and creating development.

Third, build a team of qualified, responsible, clean and professional public servants.

3.2. The content and significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building the current socialist rule of law state in Vietnam

3.2.1. The significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in promoting democracy and ensuring that state power belongs to the people

3.2.2. The significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in perfecting the legal system to implement democracy

3.2.3. The significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in organizing and controlling state power

3.2.4. The significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in the work of building and managing the staff

3.3. Some issues raised about the democratic nature of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's rule of law state according to Ho Chi Minh's thought.

Chapter 3 Summary

Building a rule-of-law state is an inevitable, objective requirement and in line with the development trend of the times. Implementing democracy is one of the basic contents of a rule-of-law state, especially a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people. Without a true rule-of-law state, there is no widespread and sustainable democracy. Democracy plays a fundamental role and is the driving force for the development of a rule-of-law state. For our country, social democratization is both a prerequisite for building and perfecting a socialist rule-of-law state and a fundamental measure to accelerate the country's development.

Chapter 4

SOME SOLUTIONS TO CONTINUE APPLYING HO CHI MINH'S THOUGHT ON THE DEMOCRATIC NATURE OF THE STATE IN BUILDING THE SOCIALIST RULE OF LAW STATE OF VIETNAM TODAY

Ho Chi Minh Thought is a comprehensive and profound system of viewpoints on fundamental issues of the Vietnamese revolution, the result of the creative application and development of Marxism-Leninism to the specific conditions of Vietnam, inheriting and developing the fine traditional values ​​of the nation, absorbing the cultural quintessence of humanity; it is an extremely great and valuable spiritual asset of our Party and people, forever illuminating the path for the revolutionary cause of our people to win victory. The practice of the Vietnamese revolution has shown that, although the domestic and international situation has changed rapidly and profoundly, the correctness, vitality, creativity, and conformity with the characteristics of the Vietnamese revolution and the trend of the times of Ho Chi Minh Thought still retain their value.

4.1. Promoting democracy, ensuring power belongs to the people

4.2. Building and perfecting the legal system

4.3. Perfecting the organization and control of state power

4.4. Building staff and staff work

Chapter 4 Summary

According to Ho Chi Minh's viewpoint and ideology, the rule of law state of the people, by the people, for the people is a state established by the entire people; a completely constitutional and legal state; a state whose power originates from the people, is entrusted by the people, not from supernatural forces of God or from supreme reason; a state that takes the rights and interests of the people, the freedom and happiness of the people as its mission and reason for existence. The state has no intrinsic purpose, but is only a tool to serve the people, to serve the development needs of society. According to President Ho Chi Minh, if the government harms the people, does not seek the rights and happiness of the people, the people have the right to change or abolish that government and establish a new government.

In fact, through each Congress, the Party's guidelines have increasingly paid more attention to the issue of building a rule-of-law state of the people, by the people and for the people. In order to have the right and accurate orientations, the guidelines and policies to do that cannot be without relying on the theories in Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state. Therefore, his democratic thoughts need to be studied more thoroughly so that our Party and State have the basis to apply them creatively and effectively in implementing democracy to fully meet the democratic needs of the people.

CONCLUDE

In general, Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state is one of the invaluable theoretical treasures of our people. Ho Chi Minh studied democratic thoughts in history, along with his experiences in the process of finding a way to save the country in Western countries, especially the years in France and Russia, to build a democratic thought suitable to the conditions of Vietnam, contributing to building a rule of law state of the people, by the people and for the people.

Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state is a complete inheritance of the democratic heritage of humanity. In theory, Western democratic thoughts such as the bourgeois democratic thoughts of French enlightenment philosophers, and Eastern philosophical thinking such as democratic thoughts in Vietnamese tradition, values ​​in Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, democratic thoughts of Sun Yat-sen and especially Marxism-Leninism on democracy are the basic theoretical bases for Ho Chi Minh to inherit and develop. In practice, the practical context of Vietnam in the 20th century such as the economic, political and social circumstances of Vietnam. The struggle and failure of bourgeois and feudal democratic thoughts and the process of cultural exchange have impacted Ho Chi Minh's consciousness. The values ​​in the struggle movement in the world together with Ho Chi Minh's mettle and qualities have created a unique democratic identity for the Vietnamese people.

From the perspective of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's democratic thought has been clearly recognized in terms of its nature, role and methods of democratic expression. In which, Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state is a highlight, a positive point in Ho Chi Minh's thought. These thoughts still have great significance today. Especially in the context of international economic integration, under the influence of the 4.0 industrial revolution, the process of building a rule-of-law state of the people, by the people and for the people, in addition to the achieved results, still faces many difficulties and challenges. Therefore, in recent years, our Party and State have always affirmed the great theoretical role of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's thought. Those are the theories that guide the Vietnamese nation.

Assessing the current significance of Ho Chi Minh's thought on the democratic nature of the state in building a rule-of-law state of the people, by the people and for the people, it can be seen that our Party has also relied on his thought to propose guidelines, policies and strategies for the cause of national construction and development. Practice also shows that the realization of his democratic thought is a great driving force for social development.

Ho Chi Minh's democratic values ​​are also of utmost importance in the process of building a democratic culture in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh's democratic practice guidelines have created the foundation for the formation of a democratic culture within the Party and contributed to fundamentally renewing the democratic culture among the masses. Ho Chi Minh's democracy carries profound humanistic values, therefore, fundamentally, our Party, State and people need to make greater efforts to study, research, imbibe and concretize his democratic ideology into action so that our country is strong enough to reach out and integrate into the world proactively, avoiding animosity and even isolation from international friends.

LIST OF AUTHOR'S SCIENTIFIC WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS

1. Nguyen Thi Hanh (2017), "The unity of interests between nation and class according to Ho Chi Minh's thought in the current socio-economic development in our country",Ethnic and Contemporary MagazineVolume 192, p.47.

2. Nguyen Thi Hanh (2017), “State administrative management and management of education and training sector”,Hanoi Pedagogical University Publishing House.

3. Nguyen Thi Hanh (2018), “The issue of democracy in building a socialist rule of law state in Vietnam under the influence of the 4.0 industrial revolution”, Science Journal of Hanoi National University of Education, Hanoi Pedagogical University Publishing House.

7. Nguyen Thi Hanh (2020), "Applying Ho Chi Minh's thought on the principle of freedom of belief and religion in state management of religion in Vietnam today",Religious Publishing HouseNo. 10 – 2020, pp. 21-27.