MODERNIZATION AND CAMBODIA

INTRODUCTION

This paper examines the forces of globalization on contemporary Cambodia, a small Southeast Asian nation of twelve million people that is one of the poorest countries in the world. The paper begins with some background information on Cambodia and it then traces the modernizing influences on the country on the political, economic, and socio-cultural levels. Both the beneficial and the adverse effects of the changes will be noted. As the paper will show, some of the modernizing influences have been forced on Cambodia by the donor countries which first offered reconstruction and recovery aid after the end of Vietnam's 1978 - 1989 occupation. The donor countries have been able to demand reforms as Cambodia is heavily dependent on foreign aid - over one-third of the Cambodian government's budget comes from these countries, in particular from Japan and the members of the European Union (EU). Cambodia's leadership is learning that there is a price for this monetary help. The donor countries withheld their aid in 1997 after a coup by the country's then second co-premier, Hun Sen, against the first co-premier, Prince Norodom Ranarridh. Aid only resumed after external demands for fresh elections were heeded and after the new government, formed in 1998, agreed to several reform measures. At the same time, modernizing changes in Cambodia are also the result of demands made by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as part of the price for Cambodia's entry into the regional association as its tenth and latest member. This entry was originally scheduled for 1997 but was called off at the last minute because of Hun Sen's coup against Ranarridh. Like the donor countries, ASEAN demanded new elections and reforms. ASEAN's clout over Cambodia is also connected to its very important role in the country's recent history as the champion of Cambodia's cause during the Vietnamese occupation. ASEAN launched a diplomatic offensive against Vietnam that contributed, along with Vietnam's deteriorating economy and the reduction in Soviet aid, to the eventual withdrawal of Vietnamese troops. Both the donor nations and ASEAN have used the carrot-and-the-stick approach in their dealings with Cambodia. This approach has been effective at a time when changes are necessary for Cambodia to face the challenges of the 21st century, including those of globalization.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CAMBODIA

Ironically, for a nation that has known so much tragedy, Cambodia can boast of a glorious past. For example, it began as Funan, an early kingdom that was the greatest maritime power in Southeast Asia for six centuries. Funan was superceded by Chenla, another important early kingdom that enjoyed both maritime power and agricultural wealth. In turn, Chenla gave way to the Angkor Empire which lasted from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries and marked the height of Cambodia's power, its Golden Age. Angkor was famous for several reasons: the extent of its empire, encompassing parts of present-day Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos; its brave warriors whose wars of conquest greatly expanded the empire; its architectural splendor as seen in its magnificent temple complexes; and its magnificent irrigation works which brought agricultural prosperity to the land.1 The post-Angkor period, however, saw Cambodia losing much power and territory. First, internal decay set in as a result of succession disputes and civil wars. Cambodia's weakened position was further aggravated by external threats, especially from Thailand and Vietnam which at one stage co-ruled Cambodia. It was in order to seek protection from these two countries that Cambodia turned to France and became a French protectorate by 1863. 2 French rule lasted until 1954 when Cambodia gained its independence through the Geneva Accords. 3 The Cambodian king, Norodom Sihanouk, whom the French had installed as monarch in 1941, played a major role in the negotiations leading up to independence. In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Sihanouk tried to keep Cambodia neutral, in line with the stipulations of the Geneva Accords of 1954, but the country nevertheless became embroiled in that war. The reasons for Cambodia's involvement included its geographical proximity to Vietnam and the support that the Cambodian Communists extended to the Vietnamese Communists in fighting what both countries believed was a war for national liberation. Much of the Cambodian support, in the form of manpower assistance, supplies, intelligence information, and sanctuaries came through the ho Chi Minh Trail, a vital supply route which stretched from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam. By 1969, the United States was secretly bombing Cambodia in attempts to destroy what US policymakers thought were Vietcong sanctuaries in the country. 4

Meanwhile, in order to play a more active role in Cambodian politics, Sihanouk had abdicated his throne in 1955 in favor of his father. he then became the Cambodian head of state upon his father's death in 1960s. In 1970, however, Sihanouk was deposed by General Lon NoI, his former premier. Unlike Sihanouk, a neutralist, Lon NoI was a staunch anti-Communist, a position that soon earned him much US support as he followed America's stand against Vietnam. Despite this strong US backing, the Lon NoI Administration was defeated by Pol Pot and his Communist Khmer Rouge forces in April 1975. The genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge lasted from 1975 to late 1978, during which nearly two million people out of a population of 7 million perished due to overwork, executions, starvation, and disease. The Khmer Rouge regime ended when Vietnam invaded and occupied Cambodia in late December 1978.5