Dealing with Uncertainty: Itinerant Street Vendors and Local Officials in Hanoi

Despite various bans and hostile state policies since the 1990s, mobile street vendors continue to exist in large numbers on Hanoi’s streets. Due to the lack of transparent information about the legal framework in place, itinerant street vendors operate in a political environment that is characterized by uncertainty. This allows local officials a significant level of flexibility, in which they shift between tolerance and discipline. The chapter analyzes the tactics and strategies that Hanoi’s itinerant street vendors employ to deal with this uncertainty. These tactics and strategies range from evasion techniques and moral claims to the performance of “ruralness.”