Basic Characteristics of Political System Vietnam is a one-party state and is headed by a communist party with no known opposition parties. This party, therefore, holds powers effectively thus making a centralized system of government. Right after acquiring independence, Vietnam held elections to elect its National Assembly, which is considered “the supreme organ of power”. According to the constitution, the National Assembly elects the president and prime minister. The president serves both as the commander in chief of the armed forces and the head of state. He also oversees the foreign dealings and domestic relations of the country. On the other hand, the prime minister is the head of the cabinet, with the power to making decisions before consultations with the members of the National Assembly. In that regard, the National Assembly, therefore, has the highest legislative powers while the executive agencies; that is, the president’s office and prime minister, have the highest powers in the government. Moreover, the National Assembly is the same powerful organ that is in control of the country’s foreign relations and affairs. This same institution “…decides on the security of the nation” thus making it influences the security policies of Vietnam. “There are 493 members of the National Assembly” and all citizens of the country who are above 18 years of age elect them. They are allowed to be in the office for only five years upon which an election is carried out again to determine new members. Political constraints such as lack of transparency during elections are examples that affected the political stability of the Vietnamese in the future, but now, the democracy practiced by the nation has straightened such setbacks. The most common threat that most countries face is corruption, and Vietnam is not an exception. Its government has experienced incidences of corruption, therefore, threatening the strength of the national assembly. “The foreign policy of Vietnam revolves around being in good rapport with other countries through the promotion of peace and good working relations”. In the real sense, it talks about being proactive and active in the carrying out of duties with other nations. Those in charge of the foreign policy actions are flexible in such a way that they will welcome matters that will boost foreign investment, “encourage new foreign relations and promote economic growth by opening the market of Vietnam to the overseas countries”. All this will be done with the interest of orientation of foreign policy. Vietnam seems to be progressing quite well both economically and politically but has shown instances of depending on aid from the United States. One other observation to note is that as the rich become richer, while the poor remain the same therefore creating a major gap between the rich and the poor. The government is thus dedicated to solving this problem by ensuring the collection of revenues and scaling of corporate tax is done effectively. In addition, when Vietnam and China resolved their differences and created good working relations, other countries responded to this change effectively by investing in their economy thus boosting its growth. Despite this growth, there have been impediments to their progress. For instance, during the economic recession of Asia, Vietnam “