Cambodia's Neutrality and the Laotian Crisis

Abstract

IN THE AFTERMATH of the Indochina war, as a result of which Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam were liberated from almost a century of French colonial rule, Cambodia alone has enjoyed continuous political unity and stability. This remarkable state of affairs, by no means inevitable, is to a major extent a consequence of the shrewdness and foresight of a single man, Cambodia's Chief of State, Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Unfortunately, the end of French domination did not automatically erase the deleterious effects of that rule--political instability, a conspicuous dearth of experienced leadership, an underdeveloped economy, uneducated masses--and few were as keenly aware of this plight as the then King Sihanouk.1