Enhance the quality and effectiveness of mass mobilization work to promote the strength of the great national unity bloc and build a prosperous, civilized, and happy Vietnam

Assoc.Prof., Dr. Nguyen Danh Tien
Institute of Party History
Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics

1. Introduction

In his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh unequivocally declared: “The nation takes the people as its root”, emphasizing that “Only with a firm and unshakeable root can the tree stand enduringly”, and that one must “construct the lofty edifice of victory upon the solid foundation of the masses”(1). He further underscored the immense power inherent in the people, stating that mass mobilization holds paramount importance, for “if mobilization is weak, all undertakings falter; if mobilization is adept, all endeavors succeed”(2). By creatively applying and developing Ho Chi Minh’s profound thought, throughout the course of leading the Vietnamese revolution, our Party has always maintained a clear and acute awareness of the pivotal position, the indispensable role, and the inexhaustible strength residing within the masses. Consequently, the Party has successfully aroused and harnessed this vast reservoir of national strength embodied in the great bloc of national unity, thereby securing triumphant outcomes in the epic struggles for independence, for the liberation of the nation from imperialist domination, for the reunification of the Fatherland, and for the sacred tasks of construction and defense of the homeland.

In this contemporary new era, to concretely realize the lofty objective of constructing a Vietnam that is “day by day becoming more prosperous and affluent, more civilized, happier, and steadily advancing toward socialism”(3), the imperative of innovating and substantially elevating the quality and effectiveness of mass mobilization work assumes profound significance both in theoretical terms and in practical application.

2. Content

2.1. The Party’s viewpoints and policies regarding mass mobilization work and achievements in implementation

The Party’s viewpoints and policies on mass mobilization work

With a deep and comprehensive recognition of the strategic position and critical importance of work aimed at mobilizing and engaging the masses, on October 15, 1949, President Ho Chi Minh penned the seminal work “Mass Mobilization”, which was published in the Su That (Truth) newspaper. In this paper, he resolutely affirmed: “All benefits accrue to the people. All authority resides with the people. The tasks of renewal and construction are the sacred responsibility of the people themselves... In summation, both power and strength are vested in the hands of the people”(4).

During the transformative period of the national renewal (Doi Moi), with a lucid understanding of the vital position and overarching significance of mass mobilization work to the great cause of national construction and development, our Party has promulgated a series of authoritative leadership documents specifically addressing this domain. At the historic 6th National Party Congress, the Party meticulously distilled valuable lessons from experience, asserting: “Throughout the entirety of its activities, the Party must thoroughly permeate the guiding thought of “taking the people as the root”, while simultaneously building and vigorously promoting the collective rights of mastery belonging to the working masses”(5). Furthermore, it stressed that “special and sustained attention must be devoted to consolidating the organic linkage between the Party and the people”(6). In the implementation of the 6th Congress Resolution, the 8th Plenum of the 6th Central Committee issued Resolution No. 08B-NQ/HNTW on March 27, 1990, which focused on renewing the Party’s mass work and strengthening the profound relationship between the Party and the people.

Entering the initial decades of the 21st century, the Party has continued to issue numerous resolutions and decisions pertaining to mass mobilization, including: Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW dated March 12, 2003, from the 7th Plenum of the 9th Central Committee, on promoting the strength of the great national unity bloc in service of building a prosperous people, strong nation, society that is equitable, democratic, and civilized; Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW dated June 3, 2013, from the 7th Plenum of the 11th Central Committee, on strengthening and innovating the Party’s leadership over mass mobilization work in the new situation; Decision No. 218-QD/TW dated December 12, 2013, of the Politburo, regulating the participation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, various political-social organizations, and the people in contributing opinions to Party building and government construction; Decision No. 23-QD/TW dated July 30, 2021, of the Politburo, on promulgating the Regulation on mass mobilization work within the political system; and Resolution No. 43-NQ/TW dated November 24, 2023, from the 8th Plenum of the 13th Central Committee, on continuing to promote revolutionary traditions and the strength of the great national unity bloc to build our country more prosperous and happy...

Through these comprehensive resolutions and decisions of the Party concerning mass mobilization work and the construction of the great national unity bloc, the Party’s viewpoints on mass mobilization during the renewal era are crystallized in the following key tenets:

1) The revolution is fundamentally the cause of the people, undertaken by the people, and pursued for the enduring benefit of the people; the masses constitute the primary subject and central pivot of the entire national renewal endeavor.

2) Mass mobilization work must invariably emanate from the legitimate and just interests of the people; it must diligently implement and safeguard those interests; the mobilization of the people’s strength must be inextricably paired with the cultivation and nurturing of that strength; any action beneficial to the people must be pursued with utmost diligence and resolve, while any measure detrimental to the people must be scrupulously avoided with equal determination.

3) Mass mobilization efforts must be oriented toward the realization of objectives encompassing national unity and international solidarity, with the ultimate aim of constructing a Vietnam characterized by “a prosperous people, strong nation, democracy, equity, and civilization”.

4) The Party’s modalities of leadership in mass mobilization must be inseparably integrated with the broader endeavors of Party building and State construction, ensuring purity and robustness. Every cadre, Party member, civil servant, and public employee bears the duty to serve as exemplars, thereby earning the trust and emulation of the people.

5) Mass mobilization constitutes the shared responsibility of the entire political system, encompassing cadres, Party members, civil servants, public employees, members of unions and associations within political-social organizations, as well as cadres and soldiers of the armed forces; within this framework, the Party provides leadership, the State apparatus organizes execution, while the Fatherland Front and political-social organizations offer advisory counsel and function as the vanguard core in unity-building and mass-gathering initiatives.

Achievements in the implementation of mass mobilization work

Throughout the trajectory of leading the Vietnamese revolution, our Party has articulated numerous correct and farsighted policies, complemented by innovative measures, to mobilize the broad masses of the people, thereby harnessing the potent strength of the great national unity bloc. This has enabled widespread participation in various movements and patriotic emulation campaigns aimed at fostering economic, cultural, and social development; bolstering national defense and security; and making substantive contributions to the twin tasks of national construction and homeland defense. In a deliberate effort to progressively elevate the quality and efficacy of mass engagement and mobilization, activities across localities, sectors, and the political system as a whole have been decisively directed toward the grassroots level. This orientation has involved attentive listening to the legitimate sentiments and aspirations of the people, while heightening the sense of responsibility and consciousness among cadres and Party members, particularly those in leadership positions. Consequently, mass mobilization has made significant and positive contributions to the execution of the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and legal frameworks, and has effectively motivated and inspired all social strata to engage actively in patriotic emulation movements.

One highlighted note is the “Skillful Mass Mobilization” emulation campaign, initiated by the Central Mass Mobilization Committee in 2009, which has garnered enthusiastic and widespread support from Party committees at all levels, governmental bodies, and the entire political system. To date, this campaign has generated thousands of exemplary models and advanced typical cases that have been successfully replicated and scaled, directly contributing to heightened effectiveness in emulation drives across all administrative levels, sectors, and domains of social life. Given these tangible outcomes, the “Skillful Mass Mobilization” campaign has truly emerged as a people-centered movement, positioning the masses at its core throughout the implementation process; it has fortified the intimate bond between the Party and the people, while substantially aiding in the construction of a pure and robust Party and political system.

Besides these developments, Party committees, governmental entities, the Fatherland Front, and political-social organizations have consistently and proactively innovated the substance and methodologies of mobilization efforts; they have zealously motivated and amplified the people’s role as masters in their participation within patriotic emulation campaigns and broader mass movements. Employing a diverse array of creative forms and approaches, mass mobilization has proven highly effective in rallying all societal strata to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Party committees and governments at every level in the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as in the recovery from the devastating aftermath of storms and floods in the Central and Northern regions during 2024-2025. These endeavors stand as vivid, living expressions of the great national unity bloc in the contemporary era, unequivocally demonstrating the continuous elevation in both quality and effectiveness of the Party-led mass mobilization work.

Moreover, guided by the steadfast principle of close adherence to practical realities and grassroots realities “listen attentively to what the people say, communicate in ways the people comprehend, and act in manners that engender the people’s trust”. Mass mobilization initiatives at various levels have pioneered numerous innovative and exemplary methods. These have directly inspired, encouraged, and drawn in every segment of the population, with special emphasis on intellectuals, village elders, hamlet leaders, and religious dignitaries, enabling their substantive and effective contributions to local economic, cultural, and social development priorities; to the reinforcement of national defense and security; and to external relations efforts. In this manner, these activities have amplified the strength of the great national unity bloc, advancing inexorably toward the noble aims of “prosperous people, strong nation, democracy, equity, civilization”, and thereby propelling the rapid and sustainable construction and development of the country.

In essence, through the conscientious implementation of the Party’s guidelines and strategic lines, mass mobilization has elevated to unprecedented heights the potency of the great national unity bloc, playing a pivotal role in forging monumental achievements of historical magnitude. These successes have laid the groundwork for a “national edifice, potential, stature, and international prestige unparalleled in our history”(7).

Notwithstanding these commendable accomplishments, mass mobilization work continues to confront certain limitations and inadequacies: (1) In some Party organizations, state agencies, and among segments of cadres and Party members, including some leaders, there persists an incomplete or insufficiently profound grasp of the Party’s policies and Ho Chi Minh’s thought on mass mobilization; at certain junctures and in particular agencies, localities, or units, implementation has occasionally devolved into formalism, with outcomes falling short of prescribed requirements and tasks. (2) Coordination among levels, sectors, and localities, as well as between governmental bodies and the Fatherland Front or political-social organizations in executing mass mobilization, has not always been seamless or robust, revealing laxity in isolated instances. (3) The leveraging of the stature and influence of prestigious individuals within ethnic minority communities and religious circles to mobilize the populace in adherence to Party lines, State policies, and legal stipulations has yet to yield distinctly discernible results. (4) Efforts to commend and disseminate “Skillful Mass Mobilization” models and exemplars have not been pursued with sufficient vigor, nor have they generated timely motivational impact. (5) Capacities for situational awareness and forecasting, encompassing international, regional, and domestic developments, alongside people’s sentiments, ethnic dynamics, and religious contexts, remain reactive in certain locales; advisory proficiency in addressing specific political-security incidents or social order-safety challenges in some areas has proven suboptimal, among other issues. Such shortcomings exert a direct influence on the promotion of the great national unity bloc’s strength amid the renewal process, industrialization, modernization, and deepening international integration.

2.2. Recommendations for elevating the quality and effectiveness of mass mobilization work to harness the strength of the great national unity bloc and erect a prosperous, civilized, happy Vietnam

Within the prevailing new contextual landscape, where global and regional developments unfold with extraordinary complexity, unpredictability, and resistance to prognostication, particular challenges arise from the “peaceful evolution” stratagems of adversarial forces; from the pervasive degradation in ideological-political orientation, moral standards, and lifestyle among certain cadres, Party members, civil servants, and public employees, manifesting as “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”; and from entrenched ills such as bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness, and societal moral decline, all of which have eroded public confidence in the Party’s leadership and the State’s governance. Compounding these issues, hostile entities exploit digital platforms, including the internet and social media, to disseminate distortive narratives targeting Party and State policies on mass mobilization. Their principal foci are ethnic minority compatriots and overseas Vietnamese communities, with the explicit intent of fomenting ethnic and religious divisions, dismantling the great national unity bloc, and rupturing the organic, blood-bound relationship between the Party and the people.

Confronted with the requirements and responsibilities of this emergent era, to engender genuine breakthroughs in national construction and advancement, it is incumbent upon us to execute renewal with excellence, to streamline the political system’s organizational structure, to accelerate progress, and to triumphantly fulfill the objectives and missions delineated by the 14th National Party Congress, thereby propelling the nation steadfastly into its new epochal phase. Toward this end, the Party, State, and pertinent agencies must expeditiously formulate policies and efficacious solutions designed to markedly enhance the quality and effectiveness of mass mobilization, thereby unleashing the full potential of the great national unity bloc to forge a prosperous, civilized, and happy homeland.

Firstly, in this new situational matrix, to catalyze breakthroughs in harnessing the strength of the great national unity bloc, thereby impelling comprehensive and synchronized renewal, the Party should promulgate two complementary strategic documents: the “Strategy on mass mobilization work in the new era” and the “Strategy on building and promoting the strength of the great national unity bloc in the new era”. The concurrent issuance of these strategies is intended to create a breakthrough in the Party’s theoretical cognition and conceptual framework concerning the position, role, and historical mission of the people, as illuminated by Marxism - Leninism’s direction that “the masses are the authentic creators of history, the determinant force in historical progression”, and Ho Chi Minh’s teaching that “the nation takes the people as its root”. These two Strategies must clarify the objectives, requisites, and duties appertaining to mass mobilization and the cultivation of the great national unity bloc, unequivocally positioning the people as the authentic subject and core of renewal; as the endogenous motive force and inexhaustible inner strength for constructing a prosperous and happy nation. In the nation’s novel development epoch, mass mobilization must be enshrined as the paramount task uniting the entire Party, the whole populace, and all armed forces, predicated upon the foundational principle of preserving the Fatherland’s independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity; pursuing “prosperous people, strong nation, democracy, equity, civilization”; and aspiring to a prosperous, happy Vietnam as the universal denominator and convergent point to forge indissoluble bonds among all societal strata - workers, peasants, intellectuals, entrepreneurs; ethnic compatriots and religious adherents; Party members and others; domestic residents and the Vietnamese diaspora. Mass mobilization emerges as the preeminent responsibility of Party committees across all echelons, aimed at “further tightening the intimate blood relationship between the Party and the people, relying upon the people to construct the Party”(8)... to amplify the people’s agency in erecting a Party that is genuinely pure and robust, “elevating the Party’s leadership stature, governing proficiency, combat readiness, and the State’s capacities for management, administration, and developmental creativity”(9). To this effect, the Central Executive Committee should deliberate and enact Regulations governing popular participation in Party building. Concurrently, we must advance the perfection, specification, and rigorous execution of the mechanism whereby “the Party leads, the State administers, and the people exercise mastery”, with the full political system and every cadre and Party member maintaining intimate connections with the masses, revering them in accordance with the precept: “whatever benefits the people must be undertaken with utmost zeal, whatever harms the people must be avoided with equal resolve”.

In light of intricate developments in regions such as the Central Highlands, Northwest, and Southwest, there is an urgent need to intensify ideological struggle against fallacious and reactionary narratives propagated by hostile forces that distort the imperative of great national unity. This must entail a tight integration of combating such erroneous and adversarial viewpoints in the realms of mass mobilization and Front work with resolute refutation of distortions intended to fracture the great national unity bloc...

The Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Committee must redouble propaganda endeavors, heightening awareness and accountability among Party committees, Party organizations, the political system writ large, and all societal strata regarding the people’s role; and the cardinal importance of mass mobilization and Front activities in the new era. For it is axiomatic that “the paramount driving force and resource for national development lies in vigorously arousing patriotism, the national will to self-reliance, the strength of great national unity, and the collective aspiration for a prosperous, happy homeland”(10) among every citizen. Propaganda must persist in disseminating Ho Chi Minh’s mass mobilization style-oriented toward “proximity to the people, assistance to the people, affection and esteem for the people, learning from the people”(11)-with particular emphasis on exemplary models and superior typical cases within the “Skillful Mass Mobilization” emulation campaign. These should be linked with exhortations for the masses to actively and efficaciously engage in national target programs, including “Sustainable Poverty Reduction”, “New Rural Construction”, and “Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Regions”, thereby fortifying public faith in the Party and State’s leadership and generating synergistic strength for the nation’s rapid, sustainable advancement.

Secondly, the actualization of the people’s mastery rights stands firmly affirmed in the Party’s Platforms and Congress Resolutions, enshrined in the 2013 Constitution and select amendments thereto (2025). Nevertheless, the institutionalization and concretization of Party viewpoints and lines on great national unity into statutory law proceeds at a measured pace. Predominantly, the State has relied upon sub-legal instruments such as Ordinances and Regulations, which often lack robust enforcement mechanisms. Numerous draft laws-including the Law on Associations and the Law on Demonstrations-have languished in preparation for years without promulgation, engendering persistent limitations and deficiencies in operationalizing Party viewpoints and policies to harness the great national unity bloc’s strength and empower popular mastery. The National Assembly must therefore intensify the translation of Party policies and lines on mass mobilization into a coherent legal corpus attuned to societal realities (notably, amending pertinent articles of the 2013 Law on Citizen Reception to align with praxis; and expeditiously enacting an Ordinance on Mass Mobilization Work...). Concurrently, it should research and promulgate a Law on People’s Supervision to actualize the people’s substantive mastery role. In institutional and policy formulation, adherence to the sacrosanct principle is non-negotiable: Every Party guideline, State policy, and legal provision must harmonize with the people’s will; must originate from their legitimate, rightful interests and aspirations...

Regarding supervisory functions, the National Assembly should persist in reviewing, amending, and augmenting select provisions of the Law on Supervisory Activities of the National Assembly and People’s Councils, inasmuch as: “Certain stipulations remain misaligned with realities; some prescribed supervisory activities have neither been initiated nor executed effectively; others lack granular guidance, occasioning organizational difficulties”(12). Moreover, the quality and impact of National Assembly supervision warrant elevation, given that: “The caliber of certain supervisory endeavors falls short; numerous resolution contents, conclusions, and recommendations remain generic, devoid of metrics, timelines, or delineated leader responsibilities, complicating monitoring, accountability, and terminal supervision”(13).

Thirdly, the Government must concentrate its directive authority upon ministries, sectors, and local administrations to refine state administrative institutions in directions that amplify democracy, ensure transparency and openness, and guarantee the people’s participatory supervision and mastery rights, consonant with the 13th and 14th Party Congress Resolutions and the 2013 Constitution. This entails specifying and meticulously implementing the guiding motto: “People know, people deliberate, people execute, people inspect, people supervise, people reap the benefits”. Paralleling these measures, regulations on public service ethics must be perfected and rigorously enforced, with heightened emphasis on the exemplary conduct of cadres and Party members-especially strategic-level personnel, leaders, civil servants, public employees, and armed forces personnel. A robust public service culture must be cultivated, encompassing responsibility awareness and a service ethos toward the people; working styles must be renewed to embody “respect for the people, proximity to the people, comprehension of the people, learning from the people, accountability to the people”, encapsulated in “listen to the people’s voice, articulate for popular understanding, guide popular action, engender popular trust”, while resolutely countering the maladies of achievementism, bureaucratism, formalism, and popular alienation. Public service inspections and audits must be intensified, with stern disciplinary action against cadres, civil servants, and public employees exhibiting authoritarianism, inconveniencing the public, or encroaching upon legitimate rights and interests...

The Government shall direct ministries, equivalent agencies, subordinate entities, and provincial/city People’s Committees directly under the Center to prioritize elevating the penetration and institutionalization of Party lines, State policies, and laws on mass mobilization amid contemporary exigencies, integrally linked to national socio-economic development imperatives; mass mobilization shall be affirmed as a systemic political responsibility, with focal efforts on erecting a people-serving administrative state that is democratic, law-governed, professional, modern, pure, robust, open, and transparent. Programs and plans for institutional mass mobilization must be dovetailed with political task deployment; mass mobilization within state administrative organs and governments at all tiers must evince genuine efficacy and efficiency, yielding tangible contributions to national construction, development, and global integration.

As a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation-state, the Government must direct governmental hierarchies to proactively monitor ethnic and religious dynamics, alongside the practical efficacy of mass mobilization in minority and doctrinal regions, informing calibrated directives and administrations; inspections and supervisions of social security policy execution, alongside programs, plans, and projects in these domains, must detect and remediate shortcomings promptly, forestalling hotspots or conflicts. Empirical hotspot management reveals: “Ideological and societal mood apprehension lacks depth and timeliness, particularly in remote, ethnic minority, and doctrinal zones. Countering ‘peaceful evolution’ machinations lags in some locales; confrontations with religious and ethnic exploitations lack acuity”(14)...

The Government directs ministries, sectors, and all-level People’s Committees to faithfully execute the Information Access Law, securing citizens’ informational entitlements; citizen reception duties must be stringently upheld, with augmented, publicized grassroots dialogues at incident loci. Resolution of complaints, denunciations, proposals, and reflections shall prioritize, per the dictum: “One must know to rely upon the people, to heed their voice; whatever elicits mass approbation and support merits resolute pursuit unto fruition; conversely, whatever incurs popular dissent, even abhorrence or opposition, demands firm interdiction”(15)...

All-level governments must exemplary implement the Grassroots Democracy Implementation Law. Praxis indicates that convoluted incidents and hotspots often stem from “suboptimal grassroots democracy regimen adherence in certain locales, with Front and mass organization activities falling short of requisites, evincing insufficient dynamism and innovation in addressing emergent economic-social and security-order challenges at bases and localities, burdened by superior-dependent mentalities”(16). Local political systems’ content and modalities must evolve toward grassroots proximity, with amplified attentiveness to popular needs, aspirations, rights, and interests, thereby reinforcing Party-State-popular bonds and harmonizing “Party will with people’s heart”.

The Fatherland Front and political-social organizations must operationalize Party lines into concrete, pragmatic action programs and plans, aggregating members, laborers, and masses through myriad exemplary models and innovative modalities with expansive societal and communal resonance. Coordination mechanisms between governments and the Vietnam Fatherland Front, alongside political-social organizations at each tier, must be institutionalized. Movements and patriotic emulation drives must be diversely orchestrated to propel economic-social progress, safeguard defense-security, and advance Party and clean-strong political system construction.

3. Conclusion

Across recent years, mass mobilization has discharged a linchpin role in buttressing public trust in the Party and State; in mobilizing popular intellect and dedication to national construction and development; and in underpinning the impregnability of the great national unity bloc. Through exemplary mass mobilization, the Party and State have adeptly apprehended popular sentiments and yearnings, informing realistic policy formulation and deployment that safeguards legitimate entitlements, bolsters the great national unity bloc, and sustains political-social stability. Concurrently, it has catalyzed proactive popular engagement in economic-social advancement, engendering holistic strength to propel multifaceted, synchronous renewal.

In the nation’s nascent development epoch, elevating mass mobilization’s quality and efficacy demands thorough assimilation of the precept: “The people are the root; they constitute the subject and nucleus of renewal, construction, and defense. Every Party and State policy must authentically derive from popular exigencies, aspirations, rights, and legitimate interests; their happiness and contentment shall measure striving and attainment”(17), consummating the vision of a prosperous, civilized, happy socialist Vietnam.

Received: December 15, 2025; Revised: December 19, 2025; Approved for publication: December 22, 2025.

Author email: Ngdanhtien@gmail.com

Endnotes:

(1) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.5, National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2011, pp.501-502.

(2), (4) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.6, ibid., pp.234, 232-234.

(3) Nguyen Phu Trong: Proud and confident under the glorious Party flag, determined to build an increasingly rich, strong, civilized, cultured, heroic Vietnam, Nhan Dan newspaper, February 1, 2024.

(5), (6) CPV: Party Documents Complete Collection, vol.47, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2006, pp.362, 363.

(7), (8), (10) CPV: Documents of the 13th National Congress, vol.I, National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2021, pp.25, 191, 34.

(9), (17) CPV: Draft Political Report of the 13th Central Committee at the 14th National Congress, Government Electronic Newspaper, pp.22, 42.

(11) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.9, National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2011, p.59.

(12), (13) See: Electronic Information Portal of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, November 18, 2023.

(14), (16) Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee: Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee leads struggle to resolve Fulro issue (1975-2015), National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2016, pp.171, 170.

(15) Nguyen Phu Trong: Resolutely prevent and push back corruption, Truth National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2019, pp.116-117.