Cauldron of Resistance

In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem organized an election to depose chief-of-state Bao Dai, after which he proclaimed himself the first president of the newly created Republic of Vietnam. The United States sanctioned the results of this election, which was widely condemned as fraudulent, and provided substantial economic aid and advice to the RVN. Because of this, Diem is often viewed as a mere puppet of the United States, in service of its Cold War geopolitical strategy. That narrative, Jessica M. Chapman contends in Cauldron of Resistance, grossly oversimplifies the complexity of South Vietnam's domestic politics and, indeed, Diem's own political savvy.

Based on extensive work in Vietnamese, French, and American archives, Chapman offers a detailed account of three crucial years, 1953–1956, during which a new Vietnamese political order was established in the south. It is, in large part, a history of Diem's political ascent as he managed to subdue the former Emperor Bao Dai, the armed Hoa Hao and Cao Dai religious organizations, and the Binh Xuyen crime organization. It is also an unparalleled account of these same outcast political powers, forces that would reemerge as destabilizing political and military actors in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Chapman shows Diem to be an engaged leader whose personalist ideology influenced his vision for the new South Vietnamese state, but also shaped the policies that would spell his demise. Washington's support for Diem because of his staunch anticommunism encouraged him to employ oppressive measures to suppress dissent, thereby contributing to the alienation of his constituency, and helped inspire the organized opposition to his government that would emerge by the late 1950s and eventually lead to the Vietnam War.

Jessica M. Chapman is Assistant Professor of History at Williams College.

While many aspects of the Vietnam War remain controversial, there is consensus that the United States intervened in Vietnam without much understanding of its enemy or ally. This gap in knowledge of Vietnam and its players, particularly of the noncommunist side, also exists in the historiograhy. Fortunately, scholars are beginning to address this gap. Jessica M. Chapman's solidly researched monograph makes a valuable contribution to this endeavor. Drawing from archives in the United States, France, and Vietnam, the book provides a detailed narrative of the complex and tumultuous political situation in southern Vietnam (1953–1956), a decade before American intervention.... This is an excellent book that provides insight into the history of Vietnam and its war. I highly recommend its use in upper-level and graduate classes on the war.

Skillfully argued, Cauldron of Resistance marks an impressive advancement in the study of Ngo Dinh Diem and the Republic of Vietnam. All readers will find Chapman's work informative. Historians in particular will appreciate the author's recreation of the political landscape of southern Vietnam during the formative years of Diem's rise to power. All libraries are incomplete without this book.

Chapman delivers a nuanced yet accessible analysis of the political scene in 1950s-era southern Vietnam. This book will be of interest to those who wish to learn more about the origins of US involvement in Vietnam prior to the war. Readers will gain an understanding not only of Ngo Dinh Diem, but also of the other major noncommunist politico-religious groups struggling for power.... Summing Up: Highly recommended.

David Anderson, California State UniversityMonterey Bay, author of The Vietnam War:

Meticulously researched in Vietnamese, French, and English sources, this previously untold story of the multisided political tug-of-war in South Vietnam is essential reading to complete the history of why the American-backed Ngo Dinh Diem government failed to achieve legitimacy with the people of the south. Moving beyond other studies that focus on leaders in Saigon, Hanoi, and Washington, Jessica M. Chapman brings Diem's opponents in the Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and Binh Xuyen out of the shadows and into the light of historical significance where they belong.

Marilyn Young, New York University, author of The Vietnam Wars, 1945–1990:

Jessica M. Chapman's Cauldron of Resistance is a major addition to the growing literature on the complexities of Southern Vietnam in the 1950s. In more detail than any account I've yet read, Chapman offers an indispensable analysis of the daily politics of Southern Vietnam, illuminating as she goes the policies of both Vietnam and the United States and does so in an accessible style that is a pleasure to read.

Lien-Hang Nguyen, author of Hanoi’s War:

Jessica M. Chapman elegantly delves into South Vietnamese society to write a deep history of a complex period on the eve of American intervention. While other histories of the war focus on leaders located in Washington, Hanoi, and Saigon, Chapman explores lesser known, yet equally critical, actors located in the 'wild' south who continued to play important roles in the ensuing war.

"Jessica Chapman has produced an excellent study—the best to my knowledge—of the political situation in South Vietnam during the early years of Ngo Dinh Diem's rule in Saigon....The book offers truly valuable insights on the consolidation of Diem's powerbut its real strength lies in Chapman's assessment of the groups and individuals that initially contested his power. Chapman masterfully relates the place of the Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, and Binh Xuyen factions and of SOVN General Nguyen Van Hinh in preand post-1954 southern political affairs, with an accent on the relationship they shared with the French before Vietnam's partition and with one another afterward." —Pierre Asselin, Journal of Cold War Studies (Spring 2014)

Andrew Preston, Cambridge University, author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy:

In this deeply researched and compelling book, Jessica M. Chapman skillfully blends two of the most exciting recent developments in international history: religion and the use of Vietnamese sources. In shining a fascinating new light on Diem and the so-called 'sects,' she completely turns much of the conventional wisdom about South Vietnam's state-building project on its head. Cauldron of Resistance is a brilliant book that is highly recommended for anyone interested in either religion and international history or the origins of America's disastrous intervention in Vietnam.

Scott Laderman, author of Tours of Vietnam:

For decades Ngo Dinh Diem has occupied the center of South Vietnamese political life in studies of early American involvement in Vietnam. What has been missing is a detailed examination of the politico-religious milieu in which Diem fought to pursue his nationalist vision. Jessica M. Chapman has masterfully filled that gap. Drawing on Vietnamese, French, and American sources, Cauldron of Resistance is an engagingly written, deeply insightful, and frankly necessary contribution to our understanding of the Vietnam War.

Mark Atwood Lawrence, University of Texas at Austin, author of The Vietnam War: A Concise International History:

Drawing on remarkable linguistic skills and pioneering work in Vietnamese archives, Jessica M. Chapman paints an unprecedentedly rich portrait of South Vietnam in the 1950s, challenging many long-entrenched assumptions about the origins of America's war in Indochina. Cauldron of Resistance is required reading for any serious student of the war.

Jayne Werner, Oxford University Press Journals, Diplomatic History:

Chapman's book has the merit of bringing attention, again, to a little known chapter of the beginning of the U.S. war in Vietnam and focusing on local politics as a determining aspect of the success or failure of U.S. objectives. A case study such as this can shed light on the whole enterprise.

Christopher Goscha, University of Quebec, Montreal, coeditor of Connecting Histories: Decolonization and the Cold War in Southeast Asia, 1945–1962:

Cauldron of Resistance is an important piece of scholarship that contributes to our understanding of the Vietnam war in general and of the interface between American policies on the one hand and the internal dynamics of South Vietnamese politics on the other. Jessica M. Chapman argues in favor of factoring in local Vietnamese noncommunist politics when we consider Ngo Dinh Diem's remarkable and surprising rise to power between 1953 and 1956.