Constructing Modernity in the Outskirts of the Global Economy. A Qualitative Case Study of Housing Modernisation in Rural Vietnam

Abstract

This thesis examines how state-led housing modernisation is understood, constrained, and negotiated in a Black Tay village in Nậm Dịch commune, northern Vietnam, under the National Target Programme for New Rural Development (NTP-NRD). While officially framed as a poverty-reduction initiative, this study argues that housing modernisation also functions as a broader project of social transformation, where concrete housing becomes associated with dignity, progress and desired ways of living. The study adopts a qualitative case study approach based on semi-structured interviews and field observations conducted during fieldwork in Nậm Dịch commune. The analysis draws on Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, Tania Murray Li’s notion of the “will to improve,” and Norman Long’s actor-oriented approach. Findings demonstrate how development narratives around concrete housing have become internalised at the local level, while simultaneously clashing with structural constraints such as poverty, debt vulnerability, unequal access to support, and ambiguity in policy implementation. Despite these constraints, villagers actively negotiate housing modernisation, drawing on multiple rationales to align housing development with local conditions. Overall, the study demonstrates that housing modernisation in Nậm Dịch reflects a complex process where governance, structural inequalities and local negotiation shape both material and social transformation.