This collection considers how cultures influence each other’s values and social organization to elucidate cross-cultural interactions. The idea of a special set of ‘Asian values’ in a more profound understanding has clearly had an impact on the thinking among Vietnamese scholars, but more surprisingly, the recent pan-Asian economic crisis has had a more profound impact than expected on the discussion in Vietnam.

Most Vietnamese scholars speak not of ‘Asian values’ but rather of Vietnamese values because the Asian impact is transformed in the Vietnamese setting. Those dealing with modern society tend to perceive the Western value impact as positive and universal. Indeed, if there has been a period of much concern with ‘Asian values’, particularly Confucianism, the pendulum seems for most Vietnamese scholars to have swung back towards seeing Western values as being those of the future.