ABSTRACT
In the final decade of the twentieth century, socioeconomic and political reform in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam continued to move in divergent directions. On the one hand, reform policy in all three countries contained the core ingredients found in most states in transition. Competing, often conflicting, forces for continuity and change also challenged all three states, albeit in separate ways. On the other hand, the Asian financial crisis in 1997-8 impacted each country differently, highlighting the structural diversity of their respective economies. Finally, the inability of riparian states to reach consensus on the use of the Mekong suggested practical limits to regionalism.
