Aid dependence in Cambodia: How foreign assistance undermines democracy By SOPHAL EAR New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Pp. 185. Figures, Tables, Notes, Bibliography, Index. The Cardamom conundrum: Reconciling development and conservation in the Kingdom of Cambodia By TIMOTHY J. KILLEEN Singapore: NUS Press, 2012. Pp. 354. Maps, Figures, Tables, Photographs, Notes, Index, doi: 10.1017/S0022463414000423 These volumes offer two very different, but complementary, perspectives on contemporary development questions in Cambodia. Both argue that they address the core issues that are shaping not only development in Cambodia but around the world and both offer insights which the authors hope will affect development pathways for the best. For Timothy Killeen the most pressing issue is how nations like Cambodia balance the need for economic development and wealth generation with the preservation of biodiversity and precious natural resources. For Sophal Ear the issue is that of aid dependence and the way that such dependence works to cripple national economies and stunt not only economic growth, but also social and political change towards a more equitable society. Read in tandem these two books provide valuable insights into what is happening in Cambodia and offer worthwhile advice to development agencies, donors, and governments about how best to shape their engagements. To begin with The Cardamom conundrum by Timothy Killeen. Killeen frames his book around a bit of a straw man, i.e. the 'conundrum' of the title in which Cambodia is faced with making a choice between economic development based on resource exploitation versus a 'green' choice of conserving the biodiversity and natural habitats of the Cardamom Mountains. As he argues from the beginning, the perceived tradeoffs are a false dichotomy. Killeen's argument is that the construction of a modern economy relies on sustainable exploitation of renewable natural resources, alongside wise investment of revenues from non-renewable resources. In the introduction Killeen offers the reader a vision of the future through three different scenarios: 'business as usual', a 'utilitarian' scenario in which some concessions are made to sustainability but economic growth is the driving concern, and a 'utopian' scenario which sees the creation of an economy based on green energy and limited exploitation of nonrenewable resources. Killeen's take-home point is that a 'green development pathway' is possible, if only Cambodia can make wise decisions around five key investment strategies: renewable energy, forest conservation, sustainable fisheries, agricultural intensification and a diversified tourist industry. The remainder of the book promises to show the reader how and why this is not only possible but necessary. Reading this introduction, however, I felt I was reading about a Cambodia that was not familiar to me: a 'Cambodia' that can be spoken of as if it had its own agency and is an entity that can take advantage of the 'opportunity' to 'choose an innovative development trajectory'; a Cambodia where the future is predictable, where shaping development is simply a matter of getting the right policies in place. Recognition of the immensely complex political and social realities of life in Cambodia seems absent here, and it is an omission that is only partially rectified in the body of the book. If social and political realities are brushed over, however, the volume certainly succeeds in providing a much deeper vision into Cambodia's natural resources and the potential for better resource management. In chapter 2 'Natural landscapes' Killeen is on stronger ground as he begins to build the factual data upon which his argument is based. In this chapter he offers a comprehensive and detailed discussion of Cambodia's natural resources. Likewise in chapter 3 'Human landscapes' and chapter 4 'Institutional landscapes', he is building a picture of human and institutional resources through which future development can take place. …