Anh The Phung, Nghia Minh Bui, Chung Quang Le, Quyet Thi Nguyen. From fields to cities: Social-economic and ideological transformations in Vietnam’s peasant communities // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №2. P. 135-154.

EDN: PJPTSK

Annotation

Vietnam’s rapid rural urbanization has determined complex social-economic, cultural and ideological changes in peasant communities. The article considers these transformations through the economic restructuring of rural labor and land use, cultural adaptation of traditional practices, and evolving ideological representations of the Vietnamese peasantry. The article is based on secondary sources (ethnographic studies, policy documents, and statistical data) and a comparative thematic approach combining rural sociology and critical discourse analysis. The findings reveal that while urbanization contributes to economic diversification and social mobility, it also creates persistent challenges such as land grabbing, growing inequality, and cultural erosion. Contrary to linear modernization theories, the study identifies hybrid rural-urban realities with smallholder farming, kinship networks, and symbolic land relations. Ideologically, rural population combines traditional communal ethics and individualist, marketoriented logics. The comparative analysis of Russian, Chinese and other transitional economies proves the universality of such dilemmas, particularly the tension between modernization and rural continuity. The study concludes with policy recommendations for inclusive and culturally sensitive rural development, emphasizing the need to integrate formal reforms with grassroots agency and local knowledge, which contributes to ongoing debates in rural sociology and peasant studies with relevance for both Vietnamese policymakers and the global agrarian thought.

Keywords

Cultural adaptation, hybrid rurality, ideological change, land grabbing, peasantry, rural urbanization, Vietnam.  

About the authors

Anh The Phung — PhD (History), Deputy Head, Faculty of Political Science and Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Engineering, Vo Van Ngan St., 01, Thu Duc Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, 71300, Vietnam.
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Nghia Minh Bui — Lecturer, Institute of International Political Economy, University of Finance–Marketing, Nguyen Kiem St., 778, Duc Nhuan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, 71300, Vietnam.
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Chung Quang Le — Lecturer, Faculty of Political Science and Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Engineering, Vo Van Ngan St., 01, Thu Duc Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, 71300, Vietnam.
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Quyet Thi Nguyen — PhD (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Engineering, Vo Van Ngan St., 01, Thu Duc Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, 71300, Vietnam.
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