Suchergebnisse

In the lead up to the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements (PPAs) in October 1991, Japan played a key role in the search for a comprehensive political settlement to the Cambodian conflict and the reconstruction of Cambodia thereafter. First, Japan coordinated meetings between the warring Cambodian factions that added an impetus for the finalisation of the PPAs. Second, during the implementation process of the PPAs, Japan assigned its top diplomat—Mr. Yasushi Akashi—to serve as head of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, and contributed troops to the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Cambodia. They were the first Japanese soldiers to set foot on foreign soil since the end of World War II.1 Third, following the implementation of the PPAs, Japan spearheaded the mobilisation of international resources for Cambodia's reconstruction. In 1992, Japan successfully convened the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Cambodia in Tokyo which kick-started its multi-billion-dollar overseas development assistance (ODA) to Cambodia. The conference subsequently evolved into the Cambodian Consultative Group (CCG) that includes key Western donors and the World Bank, whose role is to mobilise and coordinate development assistance for Cambodia.2 Japan was Cambodia's largest donor until it was surpassed by China in 2007 (see Table 1). By 2019, Japan's total accumulated assistance to Cambodia was US$2.9 billion, focused on infrastructure development, education and training, agriculture, and healthcare.

Between 2016 and 2019, the online gambling industry in Cambodia grew from obscurity to become the largest in Southeast Asia, capturing news headlines worldwide. Focusing primarily on the adverse impacts of this phenomenon, especially surging crime rates and discontent among local Cambodians, these reports often failed to provide a meaningful understanding of the complex factors and actors behind the industry. With little systematic scholarly research on the topic, this article seeks to fill the gap. Utilizing data from fieldwork in Cambodia and China, it examines the drivers of Chinese investment in Cambodia's gambling industry, from its openness to foreign capital and weak governance to crackdowns in other gambling hubs like the Philippines and Macau. It further offers an ethnographic discussion of Chinese online gambling operations in Cambodia and their impacts on both Cambodian and Chinese societies. Additionally, it considers the implications of the Cambodian government's crackdown on online gambling in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic on China-Cambodia relations. (Contemp Southeast Asia/GIGA)

The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has consistently emphasized its ability to deliver economic growth to claim performance-based legitimacy for its rule. Given the dynamic nature of performance legitimacy, the CPP is thus in continuous search of additional resources to sustain economic development. Given Cambodia's deteriorating political relationships with Western countries, the CPP has become increasingly reliant on engagement with China to support the country's economic growth and preserve the party's legitimacy. Drawing mainly from fieldwork conducted in Cambodia from 2018 to 2020, this article analyses the CPP's tactics in pursuit of performance-based legitimation from 1993 to 2021 and the impact of engagement with China on the CPP's continuing quest for legitimacy. It concludes that although increased trade with and investment from China has enhanced the CPP's performance-based legitimacy, there have also been negative outcomes arising from the intersection of Cambodia's neo-patrimonial system and Chinese capital and resident nationals, as is evident in the case of the Chinese presence in Sihanoukville. (Contemp Southeast Asia/GIGA)