Postgraduate student Pham Van Dung successfully defends the Academy-level doctoral thesis

On May 30th, 2020, at the Diplomatic Academy, pótgraduate student Pham Van Dung successfully defended his Academy-level doctoral thesis specialized in International Relations, code 9.31.02.06, named: “Foreign policy of the French Republic in the post-Cold War period”, under the scientific guidance of Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Que and Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thai Yen Huong.

The Council deeply appreciates the scientific and practical contributions of the thesis. This is a systematic scientific research work from the perspective of a Vietnamese researcher on the French foreign policy in the post-Cold War period with rich and multidimensional sources of information.

Based on the theoretical framework of foreign policy analysis, the thesis analyzed the factors affecting the French foreign policy-making process, such as the French foreign policy apparatus; the current national, religious, cultural elements and the current situation of France, an overview of France's foreign policies before 1991, the world and EU’s after the Cold War. The thesis clarifies the practice of the French foreign policies implementation through presidencies (F. Mitterand, J. Chirac, N. Parkoy, F.Hollande, E. Macron), towards major countries (Germany, USA, Russia, China); international organizations (UN, NATO, WTO, OIF), some major regions and continents in the world (EU, Africa, Middle East, Asia, ASEAN, Vietnam) to clearly see the process of mobilization and development in the French foreign policy from 1991 up to now. Therefore, the author of the thesis made comments and assessments on the foreign policies implemented under the French presidencies during the post-Cold War period: Including the characteristics, results, impacts, and predictions for the French foreign policies up to 2027.

The thesis defense ceremony took place in a serious scientific atmosphere and in accordance with the regulations of doctoral training. The student presented the main research results of the thesis and well answered the Council’s questions. The Council concluded that Mr. Pham Van Dung deserves a doctorate in International Relations with 7 out of 7 votes.

Interested readers can read the full thesis at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam’s Library and the National Library.