Introducing the book "Interest Groups and Conflicts of Interest in Development"

Interest groups and vested interests are a relatively new phenomenon in Vietnam. Due to the lack of effective governance methods and tools, some interest groups collude with powerful individuals in government agencies, enriching themselves rapidly and significantly exacerbating Vietnam's socio-economic crisis. This has led to the emergence of certain perceptions and viewpoints that interest groups are inherently bad, negative, and need to be curbed.

So, what are interest groups? Are interest groups an objective, widespread social phenomenon? If so, what are their modes of operation? What is a conflict of interest? Is a conflict of interest an objective social phenomenon? If so, how can conflicts of interest be managed, and what tools can be used to leverage its motivating role? These are major issues that need to be researched and clarified.

Photo: Tran Minh

The book "Interest Groups and Conflicts of Interest in Development" by author Hoang Van Luan contributes to gradually clarifying these scientific issues while also pointing out the shortcomings in managing conflicts of interest in Vietnam in recent times, highlighting the necessity of a new, scientific approach to managing conflicts of interest in order to create a dynamic balance in social development.

Interests, interest groups, and conflicts of interest in development are approached from an interdisciplinary theoretical perspective of Philosophy, Sociology, Policy Science, and Political Science, based on Marxist Philosophy, especially the view on the unity and struggle of opposites, which is considered the soul of Marxist dialectics.