“What U.S.-Vietnam reconciliation can teach us about Afghanistan”
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Made by History, September 25, 2026.
HISTORY · DIPLOMACY · VIETNAM
Tracing the long road from war to reconciliation.
I’m Zachary Tayler, a Ph.D. candidate in History at Ohio University. I study U.S. foreign relations, the Cold War, and the history of U.S.–Vietnamese relations.
01 / ABOUT
History across borders and archives.
My work examines how the United States and Vietnam rebuilt a diplomatic relationship after the Vietnam War. I bring diplomatic records into conversation with the experiences of refugees, Amerasians, former political prisoners, and the people who shaped postwar policy.
I have conducted research in the United States, Vietnam, and Hungary, and use oral histories alongside archival sources to illuminate Vietnamese perspectives on the two countries’ changing relationship.
I earned an M.A. in History from Southern New Hampshire University and a B.S. in History and Secondary Education from Shippensburg University. My Ph.D. in History from Ohio University is expected in 2027.
02 / RESEARCH
The Lost Peace
Normalization of Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1975–1995
Why did it take twenty years for Washington and Hanoi to restore diplomatic relations? My dissertation follows the negotiations, political pressures, and regional changes that shaped the path to normalization in 1995.
The project considers POW/MIA accounting, refugee movements, human rights, the fate of Vietnamese political prisoners and Amerasians, Vietnam’s intervention in Cambodia, and the end of the Cold War. It asks how humanitarian concerns could both delay and enable diplomatic progress.
01Diplomatic historyWashington, Hanoi, and Southeast Asia
02Human experiencesRefugees, families, and oral histories
03International archivesResearch across Vietnam, Hungary, and the U.S.
Fieldwork & conversations
Research in Vietnam and the United States, and interviews with people who helped shape the diplomatic relationship.
03 / PUBLICATIONS
Writing & public history
Research for scholarly and wider audiences.
“The Path Forward: Key Developments in Normalization between the United States and Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 1986 to 1988”
International Journal of Asian Studies, 1–15.
“Humanitarian Legacy: Patricia M. Derian’s Involvement in the Indochinese Refugee Crisis”
Pacific Historical Review, 168–197.
“50 năm kết thúc chiến tranh: Nhìn lại quan hệ Việt-Mỹ thời hậu chiến”
BBC News Tiếng Việt, May 12, 2025.
Review of Philip Taubman and William Taubman, McNamara at War: A New History
Journal of Military History 90, no. 3: 791–793.
Review of Nathaniel L. Moir, Number One Realist: Bernard Fall and Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare
H-War, October 2022.
04 / TEACHING
Making history a conversation.
In the classroom, I invite students to compare perspectives, work closely with primary sources, and connect historical questions to the world around them. I have supported introductory U.S. and world history courses at Ohio University.
Before graduate school, I taught seventh-grade modern world history at Stevensville Middle School in Maryland from 2018 to 2022. I also worked as a history tutor with Tutor.com from 2023 to 2024.
Ohio University courses supported
- Western Civilization from 1500
- Introduction to U.S. History, 1865–Present
- Introduction to World History Before 1750
05 / PRESENTATIONS
Conversations in the field
Selected talks, papers, and professional gatherings.
2027
“The Road Map to Where? U.S. Policy to Normalize Diplomatic Relations with Vietnam”American Historical Association Annual Conference
2026
“The Roadmap Not Taken: Why Normalization with Vietnam Stalled before 1995”SHAFR Annual Conference
2026
“Beyond Bipolarity: Vietnam’s Transition in the Post-Cold War Era”Cold War Archival Research Institute Colloquium, Oxford
2025
“The Path Forward: The United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1986–1988”University of California, Berkeley
06 / CURRICULUM VITAE
Experience at a glance.
View my education, publications, fellowships, teaching, presentations, and service.
View full CV2026–2027Baker Peace Studies Fellow · Ohio University
2026Samuel Flagg Bemis Dissertation Grant · SHAFR
2025–2026Cold War Archives Research Institute Fellow
2024–presentSHAFR teaching and graduate student committees
07 / CONTACT
Let’s talk history.
For research, teaching, or speaking inquiries, email me at zachtayler@gmail.com.
Send an email