Letter from the Editors

Journalism and analysis, including here at The Diplomat, tends to focus heavily on politics: who’s up-and-coming, who’s down-and-out, and what to expect from the person currently holding the reins. There’s good reason for this. Like them or not, a country’s political leaders set the ground rules for nearly every aspect of citizens’ lives, from economic policies that impact employment and inflation to big-picture questions of personal freedom and democratic health.

In this issue, we explore the nexus between politics and policy, and the real-world effects that both have on ordinary people’s lives.

In Vietnam, the death of long-time Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong capped off a year-and-a-half of unprecedented political turmoil. As Zachary Abuza and Nguyen Phuong Linh detail in our cover story, “Since December 2022, seven of the 18 members (39 percent) of the elite Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Politburo have been forced to resign” – all due to Trong’s anti-corruption crusade. The shake-up threatens one of Vietnam’s major selling points to international investors: a track record of political stability. With To Lam now installed as both president and acting CPV general secretary, there’s a window of opportunity to reassert a stable political environment. But the new normal may be more bad news for Vietnam’s economy, as the current leadership is heavy on security-minded party apparatchiks– and extremely thin on economic expertise.

In August 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act, which set aside over $50 billion to support the United States’ semiconductor industry amid stepped-up competition with China. Two years later, Jacob Feldgoise, a data research analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), scrutinizes the implementation of the law and the impact on U.S. competitiveness in the sector. Ultimately, Feldgoise concludes, the CHIPS Act has several different goals that require different strategies and policy tools to achieve. However, “the objectives are consistent on one point: success is a matter of sustaining the bill’s long-term benefits.”

Mongolia’s June 2024 election “was a historic milestone for Mongolia’s young democracy, characterized by several firsts,” writes journalist Anand Tumurtogoo. It was the first election reflecting a newly expanded parliament and mixed electoral system. It brought historically high numbers of young people, ethnic minorities, and women into Mongolia’s legislature. And perhaps most stunning, the post-election governing coalition includes not only the winning party – the Mongolian People’s Party – but the two largest opposition forces as well – the Democratic Party and the HUN Party. Mongolians are uncertain about what this means for their country and democracy. Will the 2024 polls mark a new era of healthy discourse, diversity, and good governance? Or is the grand coalition a cynical strategy by all involved to swallow up opposition in exchange for personal gain?

We hope you enjoy these stories and the many more in the following pages.