Vietnam was ranked 83 out of 180 countries on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index for 2023, down from 77 in 2022, Reuters is reporting. Reuters goes on to point out that this is despite a ‘corruption crackdown’ that has seen a number of high level officials locked up.
This says a lot about conflicting narratives around Vietnam’s ‘blazing furnace’ anti-corruption campaign. Whereas coverage skews toward its merits–creating a less corrupt and more transparent public sector–in reality Transparency International’s index would suggest this is not resonating with everyday Vietnamese.
That said, it’s not clear that this campaign is supposed to. One reading of the motives behind ‘blazing furnace’ could be that it is for an external audience, particularly foreign investors, to promote Vietnam as a transparent place in which to do business. Another could be that it is an attempt to consolidate power among particular factions in Vietnam’s political elite ahead of the impending retirement of the current General Secretary, 79 year-old, Nguyen Phu Trong.