Abstract

Political and ideological work is an integral part of the Party organization, government and mass organizations in Vietnam’s political system. This work is related to safeguarding, developing and disseminating the Party’s and State’s ideology, guidelines, policies and laws, thereby raising public awareness, political consciousness, and unity essesstial for the revolutionary success.The article focuses on clarifying the role and impact of of this work in the Southern battlefield during the early stage (1954-1960) of the resistance war against the US, a period marked by challenges in terms of strategies, forces, and beliefs. In this context, political and ideological work served not only as an ideological guide, but also as a tool for organizing revolutionary action, while motivating the masses and contributing to strengthening solidarity to create collective strength for the revolutionary cause. The article develops three main arguments:
Firstly, it provides an overview of the Southern battlefield’s early conditions of the resistance war against the US and the demands for political and ideological work.
Secondly, it clarifies the role of political and ideological work in mobilizing forces for three key tasks in the early stage of the resistance war against the US to save the country: troops transferring and regrouping; armed forces development; resistance economy construction considering historical advantages and disadvantages.
Thirdly, it evaluates the successes and limitations of the political and ideological work by the army, people, government and Party in the Southern region in the early stage (1954-1960) of the resistance war against the US.