GHAZARIAN Maxime

Ph. D. Candidate in Contemporary History
maxime.ghazarian@univ-montp3.fr • linkedin.com/in/maxime-ghazarian

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3390-8247 
https://hal.science/search/index/q/*/authIdHal_s/maxime-ghazarian 

Research Areas

• European and Southeast Asian Diplomacy during the Cold War
• Vietnamese Studies - European Integration Studies - Cold War Studies
• Relations between the European Economic Community (EEC) / European Union (EU) and South East Asia (1973-1996)
• Development cooperation and international trade strategies

Ph. D. Thesis (In Progress)

A Diplomatic Path at the Crossroads of the Blocs: The European Community and Vietnam, 1973–1995

Abstract: This thesis examines the evolution of relations between Việt Nam and the European Community (EC), and subsequently the European Union (EU), from 1973 to 1995. It approaches the relationship as a privileged observatory of the transformations taking place on both sides. On the European side, it analyses the process of European integration, the development of Community institutions and external action, and the power relations among member states. On the Vietnamese side, it investigates domestic strategic reconfigurations, diplomatic practices, and the changing place assigned to Europe within Hà Nội’s foreign policy. Drawing on archival research conducted in European, French, British, and Vietnamese repositories, the study brings Vietnamese Studies into dialogue with European Integration Studies and Cold War Studies to reconstruct interactions among Vietnamese, national, and Community actors across multiple scales. It argues that the relationship developed through reciprocal adjustments: Việt Nam became a testing ground for the EC’s external ambitions and institutional constraints, while Europe provided Hà Nộ with a diplomatic channel for diversifying its partnerships and facilitating its international reintegration. The thesis concludes in 1995, when the consolidation of EU–Vietnam relations represented more than a bilateral milestone. It symbolised the end of Việt Nam's Cold War and the transition into a reconfigured regional and international order.

Academic Background

• PhD in Contemporary History,  University Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 (UPVM3), France (since 2021)
• Master's in European and International Studies, UPVM3 (2019-2021)
• University Diploma - Springboard to Vietnam, UPVM3 (2019-2021)

Recent Publications

• 2025 - Compte-rendu d'événement scientifique : "Europeanisations from the Bottom and from the Margins. Actors, Representations, and Experiences (late 19th-early 21st centuries), infoclio.
• 2024 - The Progressive Europeanisation of the Framework of Franco-Vietnamese Relations, Journal Francophonie en Asie Pacifique.
• 2024 - The Humanitarian Issue at the Heart of the Cold War: France, Europe, and Southeast Asian Migrations - Revue d'Histoire diplomatique.
• 2022 - A Trilateral Approach: Community-based Europe, Việt Nam, and ASEAN. From Strategic Dilemma to Đổi mới Apotheosis (1976-1995) - in Enhancing ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership in the New Context in the Indo-Pacific Region, Social Sciences Publishing House.

Scientific Presentations

• 2026 - The South China Sea seen from Brussels. European Community, NATO, and the Construction of an Analytical Foundation.
• 2025 - From Thwarted Ambitions to Strategic Convergence: Fifty Years of Euro-Vietnamese Relations, CERI Sciences Po, Paris, France.
• 2024 - The Formation of a European Diplomatic Approach: Việt Nam as Key Relationship, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi, Vietnam. 
• 2023 - The Paris Agreements: The Starting Point for French and European Strategic Repositioning in Việt Nam, French Diplomatic Archives Center, La Courneuve, France.
• 2023 - Breaking International Encirclement: Việt Nam, France, and Europe as a Resonance Chamber (1979-1996), University Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, France.
• 2023 - The Interweaving of European Dynamics through Relations with Việt Nam, Maison Jean Monnet, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France.
• 2022 - The European Parliament as a Catalyst for the European Community's Việt Nam Policy, Saigon Social Sciences Hub, Dalat, Vietnam. 

Awards and Distinctions

• 2024 - Field Research Grant, École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 
• 2023 - Field Research Grant, Fondation Pierre Ledoux - Jeunesse Internationale, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Teaching & Research Activities

• University Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 (2021-2024)
  • History of Europe in the 19th Century
  • France's Foreign Policy since 1945
• University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi (2022-2023)
  • The European Union's Foreign Policy
  • EU-Việt Nam Relations
  • La Francophonie in International Relations
  • The Third World in the Cold War
     

• Co-founder of the CIMSEPINDO project

This project is part of a historical study of the memory of French burials and cemeteries in Việt Nam, from the 19th century to the present. The website (follow this link: https://cimsepindo.com/) features archives and figures, period photographs, new bulletins, an interactive map tracing the evolution of the French burial landscape in Việt Nam, and the phases of repatriation of French mortal remains.

• Board Member of the Saigon Social Sciences Hub (SSSH) 

This network is a conference platform that brings together researchers in the social sciences and humanities who specialize in Vietnamese studies worldwide. The SSSH organizes events through two sessions: Spring and Fall-Winter, held both online and on-site at the École française d'Extrême-Orient in Hồ Chí Minh City, Việt Nam. This network offers a platform for meeting and exchanging ideas on innovative topics, as well as sharing advancements in the field. The links to the websites are as follows:

- X (ex-Twitter): https://x.com/sssh_vietnam

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/290795985573906 / https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063962657602

- LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/saigon-social-sciences-hub-sssh

Expertise

• European diplomatic strategies and their engagement with Southeast Asia, focusing on Việt Nam (Cold War and Post-Cold War)
• European integration and cooperation
• Southeast Asia's political, economic, and diplomatic dynamics since the 1960s
• International economic cooperation
• Multilateral and bilateral relations in the post-Cold War period

Languages

• French (native) 
• English (C1)
• Spanish (B2-C1) 
• Vietnamese (B1) 
• Italian (A2)