Editing Ngo Dinh Diem (section)

=== Elections ===
{{see also|1956 South Vietnamese Constitutional Assembly election|1959 South Vietnamese parliamentary election}}
[[File:Ngô Đình Diệm voting in 1959 South Vietnamese parliamentary election, August 30th 1959.jpg|thumb|Diệm (right) voting in the [[1959 South Vietnamese parliamentary election|1959 parliamentary election]]|left]]
According to Miller, democracy, to Diệm, was rooted in his dual identity as Confucian and Catholic, and was associated with [[communitarianism]] and the doctrine of Personalism. He defined democracy as "a social ethos based on certain sense of moral duty", not in the U.S. sense of "political right" or political pluralism and in the context of an Asian country like Vietnam, Confucian and Catholic values were relevant to deal with contemporary problems in politics, governance, and social change. In this sense, Diệm was not a reactionary mandarin lacking an interest in democracy as he has been portrayed by some scholars. His way of thinking about democracy became a key factor of his approach to political and administrative reform.{{sfn|Miller|2013|pp=137-139}} Diệm argued that post-colonial Vietnam must be a democratic country, but noted that Vietnamese democracy should develop out of its precolonial models, rather than European and American concepts, arguing that Vietnamese "institutions, customs and the principles underlying them are democratic facts."{{sfn|Miller|2013|p=136}} Researching the [[Nguyễn dynasty]], Diệm asserted that the moral norm of Nguyễn-era Vietnam was that it was founded "on the people", following the Confucian concept of [[Mandate of Heaven]]; people could and often did withdraw their support from unpopular monarchs, causing their downfall. Diệm considered it an "indigenous Vietnamese democratic tradition" and wished to make it the basis of democracy that would emerge in Vietnam.{{sfn|Miller|2013|p=139}}
 
Diệm's ideology of personalism was largely influenced by the Confucian notion that self-improvement meant cooperation with one's local community and society at large; he thought that there is a tension between individual's personal ambitions and community's ethos of mutual responsibility. Inspired by the writings of Catholic philosopher [[Emmanuel Mounier]], Diệm considered his ideology of personalism a "third way" of communitarianism, presenting an alternative to both [[individualism]] and [[Bureaucratic collectivism|collectivism]], insisting that democracy couldn't be realised "by drafting and promulgating documents and regulations", but that civil liberties granted by democratic regime to its citizens should serve "collective social improvement", serving each person's community rather than the individual itself.{{sfn|Miller|2013|p=138}}
 
In 1955, Diệm wrote that "democracy is primarily a state of mind, a way of living that respects the human person, both with regard to ourselves and with regard to others" and that "more than any other form of government, democracy demands that we all display wisdom and virtue in our dealings with each other." In 1956, Diem added that democracy had to foster a feeling of community and mutual responsibility, arguing that respect for democracy lays in "decency in social relations", thus defining Vietnamese democracy as inherently communitarian and not individualist.{{sfn|Miller|2013|p=139}}
[[File:President Ngo dinh Diem taking the oath as First President of the Republic of Viet Nam on Constitution Promulgation Day (26 October 1956).jpg|alt=Diệm taking the oath as First President of the Republic of Vietnam|thumb|271x271px|Diệm taking the oath as First President of the [[South Vietnam|Republic of Vietnam]]]]
In summer and fall of 1955, Diệm's administration had to decide the fate of the former emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại was initially supposed to remain the head of state until the National Assembly elections, but Diệm's cabinet decided to decide the monarch's fate through a referendum. Miller highlights that despite the popular belief that the referendum was put forward by [[Edward Lansdale]], it was Diệm who decided to organise the referendum as a way to burnish his democratic credentials and attempt to realise his democratic ideas. While the monarch was highly unpopular given his collaboration with the French colonial regime, the new government committed to further diminishing Đại's reputation with aggressive smear campaign and large pro-rallies. Additionally, the referendum itself was considered non-secret, given that the voters were given ballots with the photos of Diệm and Bảo Đại on it and were supposed to tear it in half and deposit the slice with their preferred candidate into the box – this made one's choice visible to everyone.{{sfn|Miller|2013|p=141}} Miller notes that the referendum reveals the eccentric nature of Diệm's understanding of democracy – in the sense of [[pluralist democracy|political pluralism]], the vote appeared inherently authoritarian; but to Diệm his margin appeared legitimate, as he described democracy as "state of mind" in which the people elect the morally superior leader. Thus Diệm was "adamant that the outcome was entirely consistent with his view of democracy as the citizenry's embrace of a common moral ethos".{{sfn|Miller|2013|p=142}}
 
On 4 March 1956, the elections for the first National Assembly were held. These elections were considerably more free and fair than the referendum, and some governmental candidates would highly contest with independents and oppositionist candidates for their seats, according to Miller. On this occasion, non-government candidates were allowed to campaign and the election had an atmosphere of legitimate pluralism, but the government retained the right to ban candidates deemed to be linked to the communists or other 'rebel' groups, and campaign material was screened. However, Miller notes that in some districts the opposition candidates withdrew due to police intimidation and military presence.{{sfn|Miller|2013|p=144}} Surprisingly, instead of letting the draft constitution be created by a handpicked commission, Diệm dissolved it and had the constitution be made by the National Assembly deputies instead. The government hailed the process as democratic and transparent, given how the Assembly meetings were open and media presence was allowed; the National Revolutionary Movement dominated the council, but a handful of opposition figures had won seats as well.<ref name="Grant"/>
 
However, Diệm's regime of "democratic one man rule" faced increasing difficulties. After coming under pressure from within Vietnam and from the United States, Diệm agreed to hold legislative elections in August 1959 for South Vietnam. However, in reality, newspapers were not allowed to publish names of independent candidates or their policies, and political meetings exceeding five people were prohibited. Candidates who ran against government-supported opponents faced harassment and intimidation. In rural areas, candidates who ran were threatened using charges of conspiracy with the Việt Cộng, which carried the death penalty. [[Phan Quang Đán]], the government's most prominent critic, was allowed to run. Despite the deployment of 8,000 [[ARVN]] plainclothes troops into his district to vote, Đán still won by a ratio of six to one. The busing of soldiers to vote for regime approved candidates occurred across the country. When the new assembly convened, Đán was arrested.{{sfn|Jacobs|2006|pp=112-115}}
 
[[File:Lbj diem nolting.jpg|thumb|Diệm with U.S. Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and Ambassador [[Frederick Nolting]] in 1961|left]]
In May 1961, U.S. Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] visited Saigon and enthusiastically declared Diệm the "[[Winston Churchill]] of Asia". When asked why he had made the comment, Johnson replied, "Diệm's the only boy we got out there." Johnson assured Diệm of more aid in molding a fighting force that could resist the communists.{{sfn|Jacobs|2006|pp=123-125}}