State Institutions’ Underdevelopment

Abstract

Why did Cambodia’s democratic regime remain largely unconsolidated? This chapter further examines institutional development at the state level and assesses whether the country’s unconsolidated democracy had much to do with the low level of institutionalization. Both the Paris Peace Agreements and the Constitution contained provisions to ensure a system of institutional checks and balances, but this system could work only if the three branches of government — the executive, legislature and judiciary — became institutionally strong; the latter two institutions needed to prove that they could become capable of maintaining independence, demonstrating operational effectiveness, demonstrating influence and sustainability. Findings show that institutional development remained extremely limited: the executive branch, itself highly under-institutionalized, often overpowered the legislature and judiciary, which remained extremely under-institutionalized.