The Path from E-Government to Open Government in Vietnam: Dealing with the Openness Dilemma

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, building an open government seems to be too far to reach in the sense that 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, and open government. This is such a long, tough, and rocky journey linked with democratization in an authoritarian regime.