• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.119-138
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• 2018

The Hmong people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Vietnam. They traditionally practice shifting cultivation for their daily subsistence. This group has a traditional governance system as well as strong clan and kinship relationships that occupy an important role in maintaining Hmong culture and livelihoods. The state's approval of the legitimate and statutory law for the Nature Reserve largely excluded local rights of access to and the use of natural resources. This study focusses on Hmong responses to the state interventions of the establishment of the Nature Reserve as well as forest land allocation. Based on Scott's contribution of Moral Economy (1976), the authors argue that local responses function as a 'risk-averter' against state intervention. Meanwhile, the intra and inter-ethnic relationships based on the 'subsistence ethic' help locals successfully mitigate state intervention. These findings help the state rethink their interventions, which have been constructed with very little respect for local differences or the desires of ethnic peoples. Furthermore, the main findings, which reveal that not only the intra-ethnic relationship but also the inter-ethnic relationship among ethnic minorities can play an important role in maintaining the Moral Economy, are expected to deepen the previous understanding on the Moral Economy, which has previously constrained its scope to the intra-ethnic relationship.