The Vietnam idea examines how Vietnam became a potent symbol for global movements fighting colonialism, racism, and imperialism during the American War and its aftermath. Rather than focusing on Vietnam as a place, Brynn Hatton explores how artists and activists around the world used the idea of ‘Vietnam’ to express political identification and solidarity through posters, films, protest actions, exhibitions, and conceptual art. Drawing on international archives, the book reveals how diverse visual works helped shape the political imagination of the global left, and continue to influence how we see identity, conflict, and solidarity today.