Studies on event governance remain limited, particularly in the context of Asian unitary states, where the ultimate role and power of the state sets a distinctive form that challenges conventional governance theory, largely developed from Western federal states.
The authors tested Hall's (2011) typology of governance using data gathered from qualitative in-depth interviews with 42 respondents, including government officials, media agencies, local officials, residents and nine informal talks with visitors.
The analysis reveals two modes of governance: (1) state-domination, which exists when the state actively sponsors national and communal landmark events and (2) state-corporatism, which occurs when partnerships are formed between the state and other private sector entities. Dialogues between the state and other entities are established through the local government agencies.
The current research has some limitations due to the concentration of analysis on northern Vietnam.
Research on the production of cultural festivals in an Asian socialist state, influenced by Marxist sociology, challenges theories of governance based on a free market economy. Vietnam’s unique governing structure is characterized by a mechanism of state control over cultural forms, but allow dialogical alignment with other sectors within a hybrid system of a market economy with a socialist orientation.
