Ph.D. in Geography, specialising in Geopolitics, from Université de Paris 8

Yves Duchère graduated from the French Institute of Geopolitics at Paris 8 University, where he defended his doctoral thesis on the political and environmental challenges of the metropolitanisation of Hanoi (Vietnam) in 2015. He then went on to become a postdoctoral researcher at Vietnam National University, a lecturer at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilisations (Paris), and assistant professor at the University of Angers (France) and Ningbo University (China).

His research focuses on urban studies and environmental issues at different scales in East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, particularly in contexts marked by high levels of conflict. His research focuses on observing the restructuring and reconfiguration of territories under the influence of the process of metropolisation and integration into the globalised market economy. He pays particular attention to the power relations between actors in the urban fabric, the scales of environmental and land governance, and conflicts for and over territory in urban, peri-urban and rural areas.

Based on a multi-scalar analysis of spatial dynamics, he approaches the process of “development” by taking into account several scales of analysis: the formation of national city networks, regional inequalities, power relations between different levels of local government and between the state and “civil society”, and inequalities in access to land resources in peri-urban and rural areas. It should also be noted that his research draws on the tools and analytical frameworks of social geography and even sociology. This is the case, for example, in his studies on rural migrants to cities, in which the issues of integration, ‘citizenship’ and access to urban services are examined in the light of concepts developed by Subaltern Studies (infra-politics, everyday resistance, etc.), with a particular emphasis on life stories and associated representations. Finally, Yves Duchère attaches great importance to the social and critical approach to geography, which he considers essential for highlighting the uniqueness of societies and their spatial dynamics.

Author of scientific articles and popular articles aimed at the general public, Yves Duchère has also published four academic works, all on the geopolitics, development and culture of Vietnam. The latest, a socio-cultural dictionary of Vietnam, will be released in April 2026 by Rennes University Press (France).

Selected Publications:

Books:

- Duchère (Y.), 2025, Introductive Dictionnary to Understanding Vietnam , Presses universitaires de Rennes, 400 p.

- Duchère (Y.), 2023, Vietnam and neighboring states, Armand Colin, 399 p.

- Duchère (Y.), 2019, Hanoi and its region. A geography of compromise, Indes Savantes, 265 p.

- Duchère (Y), 2018, Vietnam, Editions Adret-Peuples du Monde, 420 p.

Published articles:

- Duchère (Y.), 2024, « The State and the City. The post-modern moment of the vietnamese urbanization », Geoconfluences, 20 p.

- Duchère (Y.), 2023, « Dynamics and contrastes of vietnamese development », Géoconfluences, 10 p.

- Duchère (Y.) Nguyen Mai Hue, 2023, « Metropolisation, migration and urban civilisation. The example of Hanoi », Russian Journal of Vietnamese Studies, Vol. 7, janvier 2023, 17 p.

- Duchère (Y.), 2022, « Regional Inequalities in Viet Nam: Permanences and Recompositions », Cybergéo : European Journal of Geography, article 1017, 25 p.

- Duchère (Y.), 2022, « The post-modern moment of Vietnamese urbanization », Géoconfluences, (septembre)

- Duchère (Y.), 2019, « urbanization, compromises and resistances. Land disputes in Việt Nam », The Russian Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 20 p.

- Duchère (Y.), 2018, « What disease is urban civilization called? The case of the To Lich River (Hanoi)», Géoconfluences, 8 p.

- Duchère (Y.), 2015, « From ecology to urbanization: the political instrumentalization of environmental degradation in a craft village in Bac Ninh (Vietnam) », Moussons, n° 25, 19 p.

- Duchère (Y.), 2015, “The political stakes of the management of the Red River Delta cluster villages », Les Cahiers d’Outre Mer, n° 269, pp. 9 – 32  

- Duchère (Y.), 2013, « Quản trị trước thử thách về năng lực quản trị. Vấn đề quản lý môi trường tại các làng nghề ở Đồng bằng sông Hồng (Việt Nam) » [la gestion administrative de l’environnement dans les villages de métier du delta du fleuve Rouge] Revue scientifique de l’Institut de Recherche et de Développement des Systèmes Agricoles (CASRAD), Vietnam. pp. 24 - 34.

- Duchère (Y.), 2012, « Space scarcity and environmental pressure in the craft villages of the Red River Delta, Vietnam ». Géographie sociale des pays émergents, Echo Géo, n° 21, 28 p.

Collective book chapters:

Duchère (Y.), 2019, « The socio-spatial stakes of the metropolization of Hanoi (Vietnam) », In: Woessner Raymond, Sabrié Marion, L’Asie du Sud-Est, Atlande

Duchère (Y.), 2019, « Governance and the urban fabric. The Vietnamese example», In: Woessner Raymond, Sabrié Marion, L’Asie du Sud-Est, Atlande.

Duchère (Y.), Nguyen Mai Hue, 2019, « Urbanization and peasants resistances in Vietnam », In : Etat des résistances en Asie du Sud-Est, Ouvrage collectif (Dir : Aurélie Leroy), Centre Tricontinental, octobre 2019.

Duchère (Y.), Fanchette (S.), Lê Văn Hưng., 2015, « Land prices as indicators of the new urban map », in Fanchette S. (dir.) - Hà Nôi, future métropole. Rupture de l’intégration urbaine des villages. Collection “Petits atlas urbains”, préface R. de Koninck, Edition IRD, bilingue (français-anglais), pp.164-168

Duchère (Y.), 2015, « Spatial competition for artisanal production spaces in La Phu», In: Fanchette S. (dir.) - Hà Nôi, future métropole. Rupture de l’intégration urbaine des villages. Collection “Petits atlas urbains”, préface R. de Koninck, Edition IRD, bilingue (français-anglais), pp. 168 – 170.

Duchère (Y.), 2015, « The difficult task of bringing villages up to environmental standards », In: Fanchette S. (eds) - Hà Nôi, future métropole. Rupture de l’intégration urbaine des villages. Collection “Petits atlas urbains”, préface R. de Koninck, Edition IRD, bilingue (français-anglais), pp. 170 – 172.

Duchère Y. & Fanchette S., 2014 - « Environmental issues in peri-urban craft villages: what types of governance for a better integration in the city? », Chap. 26. In Chaleard eds, Metropolises in the South, the challenge of the peripheries? Karthala, pp. 395-408.