Why To Lam's pragmatic authoritarianism will be good for Vietnam

Zachary Abuza is a professor of national security strategy at the U.S. National War College in Washington and the author of "Forging Peace in Southeast Asia: Insurgencies, Peace Processes and Reconciliation ." The views expressed here are his own and may not reflect those of the college or the U.S. government.

Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam died on July 19 at the age of 80. The previous day, the party's politburo and central committee announced that President To Lam would assume his responsibilities.