After World War II, under the aegis of globalism, transparency norms have gradually been endorsed and adopted by major organizations involved in the international economy. Many scholars have highlighted the role of international organizations as vehicles for policy reform in developing countries through a wide range of commitments related to domestic public policy. Nevertheless, the impact of international integration on transitional process toward transparency and accountability in some Asian developing states remains doubtable due to “transparency policy dilemma.” This paper aims to demonstrate this dilemma by examining the case of Vietnam to shed more light on the legislative phenomenon existing in some regimes.

For over decade, Vietnam has made many efforts to promote e-government and improve efficiency and effectiveness of its public administration. As a result, the administrative system becomes more transparent time after time. However, E-democracy does not go hand in hand with e-government in the case of Vietnam wherein a non-democratic government has to strike the balance between economic and political openness. This paper aims to shed more light on a case of an authoritarian regime in the path from e-government to e-democracy. This is such a long, tough, and rocky journey linked with democratization in an authoritarian regime.