Free Speech in Post-Revolutionary Vietnam – Lecture by Kevin Pham (UvA)

Date and time: Tuesday 17 February 2026, 16.00-18.00

place: Amsterdam, Bushuis Room  BH E1.02

Abstract

In 1954, the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) defeated the French military at Dien Bien Phu, thereby ending French colonialism in Vietnam (1858-1954). But soon after achieving national liberation, the same government became a new source of oppression in the newly independent state, or so argued a group of about fifty intellectuals proclaiming loyalty to the DRV. This talk presents the ideas of these intellectuals, participants in what has become known as the Nhan Van – Giai Phammovement (1956-1960). They criticized their government for becoming dogmatic, authoritarian, and harming the interests of the people they claimed to serve. Interestingly, they argued that the key to long lasting freedom in Vietnam is freedom of speech. But rather than defend freedom of speech in terms of individual entitlement as we tend to do in the West, they defend it as a collective—rather than individual—right, arguing that it can help the government redress mistakes, identify what is good and bad for the people, and create a socialism that celebrates human diversity. Their theories of free speech draw on Confucian traditions of remonstrance and Marxism, thus offering a different, more global perspective on free speech.

This event is jointly organized by the Amsterdam Global Political Thought Seminar and Amsterdam Medieval Seminar

Shifting sovereignties — Manifestations of sovereignty from a global historical perspective – Lecture by Moritz Mihatsch (Wenzhou-Kean University)

Date and time: Thursday 19 February 2026, 17.15-18.30

Place: utrecht, Janskerkhof 15A, room 1.01

Abstract:

Sovereignty is once again at the forefront of international debate, especially thanks to the re-election of Donald Trump. However, as a concept it is badly understood and often invoked as an empty signifier. Traditional conceptions of sovereignty are both ahistorical and impractical. Starting with historical examples from around the globe, the talk proposes an approach to sovereignty which starts from these practical manifestations and incorporates change.

This lecture is part of the Utrecht Lectures in Political History series