TIMES and POWER

Why do some political systems endure for centuries while others collapse despite their apparent strength? What makes authority legitimate? And why does holding power not always mean being able to exercise it? In Times and Power, Vietnamese physician and author Nguyen Dong Hung explores these enduring questions through an inquiry into political philosophy, historical change, human nature, and the institutions that shape collective life. Drawing upon classical and modern political thought, the book examines power not merely as the ability to command or coerce, but as a complex relationship shaped by knowledge, social structures, economic interests, legitimacy, and historical circumstances. Across four interconnected parts and sixteen chapters, the author traces the origins and changing forms of power: from early human communities and the emergence of the state to the development of bureaucracies, political elites, organizational hierarchies, and modern systems of governance. Engaging with the ideas of Aristotle, Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Max Weber, Robert Michels, and other influential thinkers, the work considers how different intellectual traditions have understood political authority, obedience, social order, and institutional change. Particular attention is given to the distinction between formal authority and actual influence. Why can individuals without official positions shape important decisions? How do organizations concentrate power? What enables institutions to preserve legitimacy, adapt to changing circumstances, and remain accountable to the societies they serve? The final part turns toward political judgment and leadership, examining strategic choice, compromise, talent management, institutional responsibility, and decision-making under uncertainty. Approaching history with the analytical curiosity of a physician, Nguyen Dong Hung emphasizes the importance of evidence, intellectual humility, and the recognition that complex political outcomes rarely arise from a single cause. Rather than offering a manual for acquiring power or a collection of political formulas, Times and Power invites readers to examine how power is created, exercised, justified, constrained, and transformed throughout history. Written for readers interested in political science, political philosophy, world history, leadership, governance, and the history of ideas, this book offers a reflective exploration of the relationship between human agency, institutions, and the forces of historical change. Ultimately, it asks a question that reaches beyond rulers and governments: not simply who holds power, but how power shapes human life and how it might be exercised with greater responsibility.