Global Cultures of Socialism after Empire: Connected Histories Between Poland and North Vietnam

• Applicant: Dr. Thuc Linh Nguyen Vu
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 568099962

Although the history of Polish-Vietnamese relations is long and complex, it remains one of the great untold stories of the global history of socialism. My research project will result in the first book-length study to analyze the transnational attachments between Poland and Vietnam in the second half of the twentieth century as a significant part of the “Global Easts.” I argue that these Polish-Vietnamese connections underscore that global socialist solidarity in the context of decolonization was both a powerful metaphor and much more than a metaphor. Imagining, discussing, and doing global socialism after and vis-à-vis empire necessitated partaking in a global discursive war that was accompanied by extensive political and diplomatic efforts and innovative world-making. This tectonic shift was not merely a matter of diplomacy and high-politics, but also a day-to-day reality for “ordinary” socialist subjects, including, prominently, North Vietnamese students in Poland and Polish language teachers, journalists, and cultural producers who got involved in and actively shaped Polish-Vietnamese relations. My project focuses on these neglected historical agents and how their practices and discourses co-created a socialist postcolonialism.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: South Korea, USA
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Sebastian Conrad; Dr. Tobias Rupprecht
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Jie Hyun Lim; Professorin Dr. Christina Schwenkel, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Lukasz Stanek