Ethnic minorities in Vietnam remain marginalised from the mainstream society and its economic benefits. Despite political overtures by the Vietnamese Government to improve their situation the relationship reamins fraught.

Given the centrality of ethnicity to the contexts in Laos and Vietnam, and the reality of poverty located in ethnic minority communities, this sub-series of four podcasts provides a short analysis of advocacy in the context of ethnic minorities in the Mekong sub-region, and the political and cultural context in Vietnam and Laos as it has developed in recent history and the implications of this for advocacy. The cultural analysis takes into account the influences of history, ethnicity, and political conflict on the prevailing political culture.