Suchergebnisse

Phnom Penh, as it existed during the Cambodian genocide (1975–79), has been held up as a textbook example of urbicide. However, this representation is not entirely accurate, for Phnom Penh remained a vital city during this period. While the depopulation of Phnom Penh during the Cambodian genocide has received considerable analytic attention, decidedly less research has focused on the city as a 'command-and-control' node in an integrated space-economy. Far from being a 'city with no people', Phnom Penh served as a functioning city and was the catalytic center-point of Khmer Rouge policy and practice. In this paper we begin the task of mapping Phnom Penh as it existed during the years 1975–79. Specifically, we identify and map the location of four broad types of economic institution: administrative, production, distributive, and ancillary. In so doing, we argue that such a geographically informed analysis of Phnom Penh is necessary for it provides the spatial foundation for an understanding of Khmer Rouge practice.

During the Cambodian genocide (1975–1979), approximately 200 security-centers were established by the Khmer Rouge. One of these institutions, designated by the code-name S-21, had the primary responsibility of punishing individuals deemed 'guilty' of crimes against the state. Much research has examined S-21, albeit from the standpoint of its symbolic importance or the conversion of the site into a museum of genocide; less research has empirically examined the arrest and execution records of S-21. Through a series of statistical analyses, in this research paper we highlight patterns of arrest and execution as a means of advancing our empirical understanding of the Cambodian genocide.

Between 1975 and 1979 Cambodia was witness to a period of mass violence in which approximately two million people died from famine, disease, and murder. This violence was the result of policies initiated by the Communist Party of Kampuchea, better known as the Khmer Rouge. To date, little research has systematically or empirically studied the geography of specific practices, notably the construction of irrigation schemes, initiated by the CPK that produced those material conditions that resulted in death and deprivation. Using satellite images, aerial photographs, archival records, and field observation, we systematically document and map Khmer Rouge irrigation schemes. Findings indicate that approximately 7,000 kilometers of canals and dikes and over 350 reservoirs were constructed during the genocide. A six-class typology is forwarded, as we argue that local hydrologic and geomorphic conditions did figure in the construction of dams, dikes, canals, and reservoirs.