Organizer: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute
Type/Location: Virtual
Description:
Join the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a webinar by Alex-Thái Đình Võ, Research Assistant Professor at the Vietnam Center, Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University, and Phan Xuân Dũng, Senior Research Officer at ISEAS and PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University.
Abstract:
Vietnam–U.S. reconciliation is often held up as a model of how former enemies can become partners. This transformation has been underpinned by a sustained, if at times contentious, process of bilateral engagement with the legacies of the Vietnam War. This webinar examines two U.S. government–supported initiatives that are part of that process: the Vietnam Wartime Accounting Initiative, which supports the search for Vietnamese wartime missing persons, and programs assisting people with disabilities linked to Agent Orange/dioxin exposure. Through these cases, the speakers explore how reconciliation, healing, and trust-building can be pursued alongside the strengthening of bilateral ties. They trace the conditions that made cooperation possible and assess the gaps that remain between policy commitments and outcomes on the ground. The webinar concludes by asking what more is required from all sides to meaningfully address the enduring humanitarian consequences of the war.
About the Speakers:
Alex-Thái Đình Võ is a historian of modern Vietnam and East and Southeast Asia whose work addresses the intersecting histories of the Cold War, the Vietnam Wars, and the Vietnamese diaspora. He is a Research Assistant Professor at the Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University, where he co-leads the Vietnam Wartime Accounting Initiative, a transnational research program devoted to war legacies and bilateral cooperation in identifying the missing. Võ previously taught at Cornell University and worked as a historian at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He currently serves on the boards of the U.S.–Vietnam Center at the University of Oregon and the Vietnamese Heritage Museum. He holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University.
Phan Xuân Dũng is a Senior Research Officer at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and a PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University. His research interests include Vietnam’s foreign policy, Mekong geopolitics, Vietnam–U.S. reconciliation, and the politics of Agent Orange. In 2023, he authored a comprehensive report on Vietnamese Agent Orange victims for the United States Institute of Peace, helping to inform policy discussions and public understanding of the issue.
Registration:
To attend the event virtually, please register here.