1. World and domestic contexts affect ideological and cultural security.

– The changes of the political, economic, socio-cultural, national defense and security situations in the world and in the country have generated a strong impact on the awareness and beliefs of the masses.

Currently the revolutionary cause of our country is taking place in the context that the world and the region have continually witnessed rapid and unpredictable developments. “Peace, cooperation and development are still a big trend, but they are faced with many obstacles and difficulties. Globalization and international integration continue to progress but are being challenged by the competition of influence among major powers and the rise of extremism”⁽²⁾. Fierce class struggles, national struggles for freedom and independence, ethnic and religious conflicts, especially civil wars, and tense disputes over territories, seas and islands in the world and in the region are taking place, containing the risk of military conflicts, local wars, even a war with high-tech weapons of new content and form.

In Viet Nam, the renovation work under the leadership of the Party has recorded many achievements in all aspects, political security has been ensured, the people’s economic life has improved, the consanguinity between the Party, the authority and the people has been fostered. That the country’s position and power have increasingly enhanced the country’s international prestige, laying an important foundation for national construction and defense. In the sum-up and assessment of implementation of the 12th Congress Resolution, our Party commented: “Over the past five years, having made the best of favorable conditions and opportunities, and overcome difficulties and challenges, particularly the grave impacts of the global economic crisis and downturn resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic on the world and our country, during the concluding year of our Party’s 12th Tenure, our entire Party, people and armed forces have united, putting together their hearts, minds and efforts, successfully accomplished multiple highly important and relatively comprehensive achievements, creating numerous outstanding imprints”⁽³⁾.

However, it is worth noting that the four risks pointed out by our Party still exist, including the risk of falling further economically compared with other countries in the region and in the world, the risk to “peaceful evolution” posed by hostile forces to oppose our country’s revolution; the degradation in ideology, politics, morality, lifestyle, manifestations of “self-evolution”, “self-transformation” in a portion of the cadres, party members, civil servants and bureaucrats, complicated developments in corruption and waste; the gap between the rich and poor, growing social division, the worrying deterioration of social morality, which reduces the trust of cadres, party members and the masses in the Party, the State, and in local officials.

The above situation has been directly affecting the perception, ideology, feelings, beliefs of cadres, party members and the masses. It also poses both opportunities, advantages as well as threats and disadvantages to the ideological work.

– The socialist oriented national renewal (Doi moi) of Vietnam continues to develop but it still faces many challenges and difficulties. Many ideological and theoretical problems arise due to the impact of the market mechanism and integration.

The renewal (Doi moi) cause has brought a variety of achievements to the country in all fields of economy, politics, culture and society. These achievements are attributed to various reasons, of which the leadership and direction of the Party, the determination of the entire political system and the consensus of the people should be emphasized. However, the downsides of the market mechanism are loopholes for hostile forces to take advantage to oppose the revolution. Some national problems still rage on namely corruption, smuggling, and extravagance, bureaucracy, negligence of reality and people, poor sense of discipline, disregard for regulations and laws. The way of thinking inclined to locality, and envy at work have led to prolonged disunity in some places.

Another social factor that hostile forces often fully exploit is mistakes made by socialist countries in building socialism, particularly mistakes in awareness and model building of socialism, mistakes in implementation, corruption, lack of experience in social organization and management, in which “a part of cadres and party members have kept themselves away from ideals, lost wills, been afraid of difficulties, sufferings, and undergone deterioration in political thought, morality, lifestyle, with manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”(4). Many practical problems have heightened the need to renew and supplement the theoretical work to match and meet the requirements of the reality. This is also a great challenge for ideological work.

- The scientific-technological revolution has made new developments, vigorously accelerating the globalization process.

The world is entering the knowledge economy and the race of mankind in the 21st century is a race into the knowledge economy. This revolution has strongly influenced the activities of ideological work, especially the issue of ideological and cultural security. Thanks to information technology, people’s connections and ranges of exchanges have been widened, the communication between people through the internet tends to blur the cultural boundaries between ethnic groups. Major countries want to play their roles, fulfill their ambitions in their interests and political purposes as well as their cultural influence. They have utilized the achievements of the 4.0 Revolution as an effective tool to promote their culture for political purposes. The protection and preservation of the national cultural identity of a country must face these trends in the most comprehensive, direct and powerful way ever. The 4.0 Revolution makes it impossible for any country, people or individual person to stay out of its “whirlpool.” However, the 4.0 Revolution not only creates challenges, but also brings about great opportunities. The connection thanks to information technology and digital achievements also quickly creates opportunities for the transfer and learning of many other countries in achievements of civilization and cultural values as well.

The revolution of science and technology, especially information technology, the press and communication have been generating great influence and making extensive contributions to the spreading of the right, the scientific and the revolutionary ideas of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, as well as guidelines and policies of the Party and State on a worldwide scale.

2. Challenges posed to the protection of ideological and cultural security in the context of globalization

First, there has been an increase in hostile forces’ conspiracies and activities to take advantage of the globalization and international integration to fight against Vietnam.

According to our Pary: “in order to oppose the Vietnamese revolution, opposing and hostile forces have used various forms and means to carry out “peaceful evolution” and riots to overthrow the Socialist regime. Along with other destructive activities, the ideological-cultural front is also of their concern. The most vicious spear that they use on this front is to attack the ideological foundation including the Party Platform and the 1992 Constitution to negate Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Socialist regime and the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam”(5). To carry out that plot, hostile forces have been promoting major activities such as: strengthening destructive propaganda through various forms and tricks, including promoting propaganda via the internet and social networking; using reactionary organizations of overseas Vietnamese to entice and propagate them to gather forces, organize protests, cause disturbances, and destabilize Vietnam.

By various means, cultural products are used to spread and propagate reactionary and wrong views; all kinds of discs, books, newspapers, pictures, cultural publications with reactionary content, contrary to the legitimate fine customs, practices and national cultural identity of Vietnam are illegally brought to Vietnam in order to corrupt the youth as well as social morality.

Second, bourgeois cultural “values” and lifestyles have had chance to penetrate, be absorbed, develope and fade the national cultural identity even upset socialist cultural values and lifestyle.

In the process of integration, bourgeois thoughts have been penetrating our nation in many different ways, while our theoretical system still has gaps and some recently emerging problems have not yet been researched, supplemented and addressed. There are manifestations of the tendency to underestimate the traditional cultural values and to absorb foreign values without filtering out those not suitable to the national culture among a part of the youth. The speech by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the National Cultural Conference stated that “...there have been some limitations in receiving the quintessence of human culture; due attention has not been paid to and active measures have not been taken to preserve, protect and promote the good and unique cultural values of the nation; foreign values in many cases are imitated in a ridiculous, objectionable, and non-selective way, to be honest, in a cultureless and countercultural way”(6).

– To further strengthen the education of historical traditions and traditional cultural values of the nation.

Strengthening the education of traditions helps people, especially young people, to see the good and the beauty as well as the profound human values of traditional culture based on science. When national pride is based on science, it will make young people take responsibility and actions to preserve and promote those cultural values as well as to build and defend the Fatherland. Youth unions in universities must promote the pioneering role, be the core force to orient and lead students to receive and assimilate foreign cultures through various means and channels such as group activities, sightseeing activities, picnics, returning to the revolutionary source, trips to museums, historic sites, writing contests, theatrical contests, etc.

– To condemn and criticize acts that disregard traditional cultural values and deviate from the nation’s cultural norms.

Through various channels and media, especially new media, it is necessary to lead mass opinion against acts of disregard and denial of traditional cultural values. Condemning and criticizing is a way for people including young people to be aware of the bad and inappropriate and to change their attitudes as well as to adjust their behaviors.

– To create a healthy cultural environment so that each citizen has the conditions to absorb the cultural values of humanity.

To address the current cultural “invasion” problem, the consciousness of each citizen is the most important factor to protect the traditional culture of each country. However, for each person to be fully conscious, it is necessary to build a healthy cultural environment, which includes the environments from family, school and society. The combination of these three environments and the self- education of each individual will contribute to raising awareness, forming attitudes and behaviors in the acquisition, selection and use of valuable and influential entertainment cultural products.

It can be said that the issue of protecting national security including ideological and cultural security is a central and urgent task today. The 13th National Party Congress has raised new awareness and thinking about national security. These are theoretical issues and development orientations in the field of defense and security, which both affirm Vietnam’s position in the international arena and promote the strength of the times in protecting national security.