Failures of Sihanouk’s Rule and Rise of the Khmer Rouge
- Prince Norodom Sihanouk dominated Cambodian politics from independence but failed to control corruption, rural poverty and rising communist influence, contributing to the rise of the Khmer Rouge.
- Sihanouk’s rule relied on personal authority and political patronage, weakening formal institutions.
- His government failed to address widespread rural poverty, angering peasants who felt neglected.
- Corruption and repression alienated students, workers and intellectuals in urban areas.
- Sihanouk attempted neutrality in the Cold War, but Cambodia became increasingly destabilized by the Vietnam War.
- The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, gained support among disillusioned youth and rural communities.
Case study
Sihanouk’s Overthrow (1970)
Causes of the Coup
- General Lon Nol removed Sihanouk while he was abroad, promising stronger leadership.
- The US approved of Lon Nol due to his willingness to resist communism.
- Sihanouk’s neutrality angered both the US and local elites who wanted decisive alliances.
- Rural discontent increased as the economy weakened and the Vietnam War crossed into Cambodia.
- Sihanouk lost legitimacy among elites who viewed his leadership as unstable.
Consequences for Cambodia
- Sihanouk allied with the Khmer Rouge, lending them massive popularity among rural Cambodians.
- Lon Nol’s regime was weak, corrupt and ineffective against growing communist insurgency.
- The coup plunged Cambodia into civil war.
- US bombing campaigns against Vietnamese sanctuaries inside Cambodia destabilized the country further.
- The Khmer Rouge emerged as the strongest anti-government force by 1973.
Definition
Lon Nol
- Military leader who overthrew Sihanouk in 1970, leading an unstable pro-American government.
Definition
Neutrality
- Sihanouk’s foreign policy attempt to avoid siding openly with the US or communists.
Khmer Rouge Ideology, Pol Pot and the Nature of the Regime
- The Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot, sought to create a pure agrarian communist society, resulting in one of the most violent and destructive regimes of the twentieth century.
- Khmer Rouge ideology focused on radical agrarian socialism, self-sufficiency and elimination of class enemies.
- The movement viewed cities as corrupt and sought to eliminate modern influences.
- Pol Pot wanted to rebuild Khmer society based on an idealized version of its ancient past.
- The regime abolished money, markets, private property and religion.
- Intense paranoia led to widespread use of torture, purges and mass execution.
Case study
Year Zero and the Evacuation of Phnom Penh (1975)
Radical Social Transformation
- Upon taking power, the Khmer Rouge declared “Year Zero,” erasing all previous Cambodian history.
- The entire population of Phnom Penh, nearly two million people, was forced into the countryside.
- Citizens were ordered to become agricultural laborers regardless of background.
- Families were separated to weaken loyalty networks and increase state control.
- Schools, hospitals and markets were closed as part of the anti-urban ideology.
Terror, Violence and Social Destruction
- The S-21 prison in Phnom Penh became the center of torture and forced confessions.
- Intellectuals, teachers, monks and minority groups were targeted as supposed enemies.
- Famine spread due to poor planning, forced labor and destruction of infrastructure.
- Between 1.7 and 2 million Cambodians died from execution, starvation or disease.
- The regime became isolated internationally, supported mainly by China.
Definition
Year Zero
Khmer Rouge policy to restart Cambodian society by eliminating past institutions.
Definition
S-21 (Tuol Sleng)
Prison where thousands were tortured and executed under Pol Pot.
Vietnamese Invasion, Civil War, International Response and 1993 Elections
- Vietnam invaded Cambodia in December 1979 after Khmer Rouge border attacks and massacres of Vietnamese civilians.
- Vietnamese forces removed the Khmer Rouge and installed the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK).
- Pol Pot’s forces retreated to the Thai border, continuing guerrilla war throughout the 1980s.
- China, the US and ASEAN states opposed Vietnam’s occupation and continued to support anti-Vietnamese groups.
- Peace negotiations eventually led to a UN mission and national elections in 1993.
Case study
Paris Peace Agreements and the 1993 Elections
International Peace Process
- The Paris Peace Agreements (1991) ended most fighting and created the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).
- UNTAC supervised ceasefires, disarmament, refugee returns and political transition.
- All factions, including non-Khmer Rouge parties, agreed to participate in national elections.
- The UN helped rewrite the constitution and restore monarchy under Sihanouk as a symbolic head of state.
- The peace process marked a rare moment of global cooperation after the Cold War.
Political Transformation and Challenges
- The 1993 elections brought victory for the FUNCINPEC party but required power-sharing with the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
- Cambodia reestablished multiparty democracy, but political tension and violence persisted.
- Khmer Rouge remnants continued small-scale fighting until the late 1990s.
- The new government faced massive reconstruction challenges after decades of war.
- Cambodia slowly reintegrated into the international community with significant foreign assistance.
Common Mistake
- Overlooking Sihanouk’s political failures as a major cause of Khmer Rouge rise.
- Treating the Khmer Rouge solely as a communist group instead of emphasizing its radical agrarian ideology.
- Ignoring the role of the Vietnam War in destabilizing Cambodia.
- Forgetting that foreign powers supported different factions during the civil war.
- Underestimating the global importance of the Paris Peace Agreements and UN involvement.
Exam technique
- Link internal issues (poverty, repression) with external pressures (Vietnam War, Cold War).
- Use strong case studies: 1970 coup, Year Zero, Paris Peace Agreements.
- Emphasize the extreme nature of Khmer Rouge policies and their human impact.
- Highlight the complex role of foreign powers such as Vietnam, China, the US and the UN.
- Explain how Cambodia transitioned from dictatorship to a fragile democracy.
Theory of Knowledge
- How do political ideologies justify extreme violence in revolutionary movements?
- Can historical memory be reconstructed after mass trauma and genocide?
- How does the international community decide when intervention is legitimate?
Self review
- Assess the reasons for the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
- Examine the nature and impact of the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979.
- To what extent did international involvement shape Cambodia’s political reconstruction after 1979?
