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  • Cambodia:Capitalist Transformation by Neither Liberal Democracy Nor Dictatorship
  • Steve Heder (bio)

Twenty years after the Permanent Five Members of the United Nations Security Council, joined by Australia, Japan, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), crafted the 1991 Paris Agreements compelling their Cold War Cambodian proxies to commit themselves to a political solution to an ultimately genocidal armed conflict with roots in the 1940s and which led to Cambodia's occupation by Vietnam, Cambodia was almost a normal country. A period of transformation of Cambodia into a politically sovereign, thriving capitalist part of Asia with a formally democratic political regime had succeeded, and was indeed deeply entrenched under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who had first ascended that post in 1985, when Cambodia was still dominated by Vietnam. However, whereas the original implementation by the UN of the Paris Agreements had created the conditions making it possible for it to be imagined that Hun Sen could be voted out of power via free and fair elections, he has ensured that Cambodia is not a properly functioning liberal democracy, and there was little reason to think that a political transition could occur as long as Hun Sen continued to hold office. The year 2011 set the scene for new Hun Sen triumphs in the local and national elections scheduled for 2012 and 2013, respectively. [End Page 103]

Hun Sen Dominates the Political Scene

There was certainly no sign of any weakening of or challenge to Hun Sen's domination of Cambodian politics. Belying rumours that he was suffering from a serious illness was not only the premier's vociferous denial,1 but his intensification of a gruelling schedule of public speaking events2 during which he projected an image of himself as a man of the people by visiting rural areas, a man of military prowess by addressing army audiences, a man of education by presiding over university graduation ceremonies, and a man of money by appearing with aid donors and investors, especially but not only Chinese. These public displays of power furthered the political reinvention of Hun Sen as a magical God-King, towering over the frail, abdicated Norodom Sihanouk and his son, King Norodom Sihamoni.3 Hun Sen claimed a semi-royal or better than royal status himself, alluding to the belief he is the reincarnation of the sixteenth century fighting, populist pretender to the throne, Sdech Kan; describing himself as politically more astute than Cambodia's past kings; and claiming to be possessed of infallible military and particularly economic wisdom by virtue of which he has invented new military doctrines and is bringing about economic miracles. This justified the ever-growing use of his full royal-sounding official title — Samdech Akka Moha Sena Pedei Techo (roughly, "exalted supreme great commander of gloriously victorious troops") — and his conviction that it is perfectly natural that, given his achievements and consequent popular gratitude for them, he be Prime Minister for life, and that he be succeeded in power by his son, Hun Manet.

Hun Sen continued to whittle away at any potential competition from within the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), using politically targeted prosecutions. In 2009, the Prime Minister had called for a crackdown on police officers involved in the drugs trade, and in 2010, the newly established Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), headed by a Hun Sen advisor, was assigned to carry out this task. In 2011, it arrested police Lieutenant General Moek Dara, Secretary General of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, and several other important police officers for extorting bribes from drug dealers in exchange for protection from arrest,4 for which they were put on trial.5 The authorities admitted ACU operations were constrained by the fact that it was simply not possible for it to go after all cases of corruption, requiring it to take a selective approach,6 and diplomatic observers agreed that the selectivity was aimed at associates of CPP Chairman Chea Sim and his brother-in-law Sar Kheng, a Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior, long identified as potential challengers to Hun Sen's primacy over the CPP.7 This seemed confirmed by the arrest...

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