The Last Chapter of the Vietnam War: Normalization, Nongovernmental Actors and the Politics of Human Rights, 1975-1995

<p>This dissertation dispels two myths about the Vietnam War. The first is that U.S. involvement in Indochina ended abruptly in April 1975 and the second is that the only exception to complete disengagement was the effort to secure a “full accounting” of missing American servicemen. This project demonstrates that the United States remained actively involved in Vietnam and Southeast Asia as a whole, in large part to address refugee issues. I am particularly interested in the policymaking process, and this project is the first to examine U.S. policies regarding missing American soldiers, boat and land people, Amerasians, and reeducation camp detainees in a single study and to place these issues in the context of U.S.-Vietnamese diplomacy. By shifting our focus to the postwar period and to refuge issues, “The Last Chapter of the Vietnam War” challenges the way we understand the Vietnam War and warfare itself.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year

2017

Author dc:creator

• Demmer, Amanda C.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kurk Dorsey
• Lucy E Salyer
• Jessica M Lepler

• human rights
• normalization
• refugees
• Vietnam War
• American history

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/153

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholars.unh.edu:dissertation-1152