Anatomy of a Crisis: Education, Development, and the State in Cambodia, 1953-1998

2 Sihanouk and the Sangkum: From Independence to Chaos

Sihanouk and the Sangkum From Independence to Chaos 31 When King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated the Cambodian throne to contest the 1955 elections, he brought to an end two years of bitter political conflict as independent Cambodia had struggled to contend with its newly granted freedom. Drawing on the divine status accorded to his former title, Sihanouk seized control of the emergent Cambodian state, formulated its ideology, and exerted his influence on the direction of public policy. It was during the following years, under Sihanouk’s guidance as the builder of the modern Cambodian nation-state, that the country was popularly portrayed as an “oasis of peace,” a Southeast Asian “Camelot.”1 From the mid-1960s, flaws became evident in the aspirations of Sihanouk’s development agenda. Domestically, the prince was under pressure from the Cambodian left, whose influence he had sought to nullify, and the right, who had become frustrated with his blatant political autocracy and left-leaning economic agenda. Beyond Cambodia’s borders, the escalating Vietnamese conflict was also beginning to impact on political and economic life. The country’s woes climaxed in 1970, when the National Assembly deposed Sihanouk. For the education system, the period began as one of great expectation . A foreign expert, sent to Cambodia in 1955/1956, provided ample evidence of the optimism that not only accompanied Cambodia’s emergence from colonial rule but also encapsulated the goodwill of the entire international community in respect to the developing world. He wrote: Cambodia seems to stand at the extended new road to life among the many nations. She has passed several tollgates and is entering the main highway. . . . In certain places in the world, there are unspoiled places awaiting training and education for the new era; Cambodia is one of those places.2 Over time, the optimism subsided. Goodwill was replaced by unattained aspirations, increased disillusionment, political awakenings, and despair . As in many other nations of the developing world, education was pursued in Cambodia with the promise of rapid economic development and modernization. These anticipated successes were not forthcoming , resulting in widespread discontent, especially among the nation ’s students. This chapter picks up where the French left off, in the aftermath of the Second World War, with Cambodia moving steadily toward independence . The French never really left the educational picture. Their continued influence and intransigence emerged as a dominant motif throughout the period. But the French were not responsible for the “educational crisis” in Cambodia. The policy of Cambodianization, another motif that emerged, although threatened by the French, failed at the hands of Cambodians. Particularly culpable was Norodom Sihanouk, who had slavishly pursued the expansion of educational provision in order to promote and ensure his uncontested legitimacy. Sihanouk’s interference in all spheres of educational policy represents a third motif. As the educational chronology of the 1950s and 1960s unfolded, the voice of the former king faded in and out of the picture, his presence often marked by whimsical or flippant observations, his search for a scapegoat in the face of economic or political turmoil, or by his occasional, if relatively short, period of serious concern with educational provision. A final motif to emerge throughout the period was the continued development of contending Cambodian nationalisms. One such concept of nation was that of Sihanouk, whose aspirations for Cambodia continued to reflect a political culture based on its hierarchical precolonial predecessor. Sihanouk’s nation-building effort created a stark paradox. On one hand, the prince was fervent in his pursuit of economic development and modernization. On the other, he was equally fervent in reinforcing a political status quo that saw his rule unquestioned. The result of the paradox was the manifestation of discontent and dissent among the nation’s students and teachers. The other “nationalism” to 32 Sihanouk and the Sangkum emerge during the period, promoting ideals of egalitarianism, drew support from those disenchanted with the status quo. While the education system became a key battleground for these two opposing nationalist cultures, it was the nature of the entrenched hierarchical political culture that played a significant role in the manifestation of a Cambodian educational crisis. The Prince, the Organization, and the Ideology The years that followed the achievement of Cambodian independence, not inclusive of the interregnum before the 1955 national elections, are widely regarded as the most politically stable in postindependence Cambodian history. They are also characterized by...