Political Ideology of Cambodian Historical Parties
Created Time: December 21, 2021 4:47 AM Database: Evergreen Database Last Edited Time: December 21, 2021 4:48 AM Type: Inbox, Permanent Notes
Political Ideology of Cambodian Historical Parties 1
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Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People’s Socialist Community): political movement by Sihanouk, very popular
“Ideology is an imperative factor in construction of a modern state”
- Sihanouk
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His ideology was Unity, modernization, and dynamism
Our socialism … differs profoundly from Marxist socialism or Communism. It is essentially Khmer, taking inspiration directly from our religious principles, preaching mutual assistance and social action with a moral concern for all, implying a great respect for the human person and establishing its aim as the well-being and fulfilment of the individual.
- It’s a neutrality, picking neither capitalism or communism, but somewhere in the middle
- The state works together with the individual to increase his welfare and not to serve it’
- state controls the national economy, protects the citizen from exploitation by a privileged class, ‘assures his existence and dignity and gives him the material means to find happiness
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Khmer Republic in the Kingdom of Cambodia (1947 - 1970)
- Although the regime led by Lon Nol did not achieve much, he had the ideology of chauvinism (devoted to, glorifies past ancestors as purpose for present actions)
- Lon Nol wanted Cambodia to become a Buddhist military state instead of a democracy
- He proposed ‘Neo-Khmerism’
- to modernize: bring socio-economic, cultural, and scientific development to the Khmer people
- to achieve socialism through nationalism, republican democracy and popular well-being
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Radical socialist revolutionaries ruling Democratic Kampuchea until 1979 (Khmer Rouge)
- Doesn’t align with either left or right
- Didn’t have any reference to Marx, Lennin, or Mao in its documentations and broadcasts
- to lead its people to succeed in national democratic revolution, to exterminate the imperialists, feudalists, and capitalists
- when they got power redefined to 1) the socialist revolution and 2) national defense
- banning freedom of religion, any western practices, and set up collective systems
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Vietnam-backed Cambodian-communists as the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) (1979)
- On paper, it aimed to establish a people’s democratic regime who is peaceful, independent, democratic, neutral, and a non-aligned country moving towards socialism
- But it was still considered a Vietnamese satellite state or lackey though
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These regimes wanted change rather than development, making Cambodia very unstable
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Each regime took on their own ‘Khmer socialism’ because Cambodian’s tradition of mutual assistance society which did not translate well to agrarian socialism.