My dissertation examines the interplay between war, decolonization, and state transformation in the French sponsored State of Vietnam (Quốc gia Việt Nam) and its predecessor states from 1945-1955. Empirically, I trace the history of this state and the contentious partnership between French and Vietnamese as they attempted to build a state apparatus capable of challenging the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Simultaneously, my narrative captures how the conflict—civil, anti-colonial, and increasingly internationalized—reshaped patterns of political, social, and state organization. Conceptually, I draw on literature in political science that elaborates the relationship between war and state formation, and recent historical studies that explain the dynamics of accommodation/collaboration.
My research is based in the following archives:
Vietnam
Vietnam National Archives Center I (Hanoi); Center II (HCM City); Center III (Hanoi); Center IV (Dalat)
France
Service historique de la Défense (Vincennes)
Archives nationales d’Outre mer (Aix-en Provence, France)
Centre des Archives diplomatiques, Ministère des Affaires étrangères (La Courneuve, France)
Archives nationales (Pierrefitte-sur-Seine)
Archives départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille)
Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (Nice)
Great Britain
The National Archives (Kew Gardens)
United States
US National Archives and Records Administration (College Park, MD)
JFK Presidential Archive
Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Archive
LBJ Presidential Archive
