Post-conflict Cambodia Research Articles

Counterframing Truth? Interactions in Art and Justice in Post-Conflict Cambodia

ABSTRACT Authoritarian dynamics often produce a fundamental mismatch between what can be said publicly, and what is hidden and takes place out of plain sight. This raises the question: how do interactions between subordinates and the dominant shape artistic interventions in post-conflict Cambodia? This article explores the dialectical relationship between the public and the ‘hidden’ transcript in intergenerational art dialogues on the Khmer Rouge. It contends that interactions in art and justice create openings to circulate discourses, images, and meanings that differ from the public transcript, thereby, providing a means to defy the powerful and counterframe dominant narratives of the past.

Does Foreign Aid Promote Foreign Direct Investment in Post-conflict Cambodia?

Post-conflict Cambodia has experienced a significant increase in foreign aid and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows since the early 1990s. This paper investigates whether (aggregate, donor-specific, and sectoral-based disaggregate) foreign aid has any short- and long-run crowding-in effects on FDI inflows using autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound test for cointegration over the 1992–2018 post-conflict period. Robust findings reveal that aggregate development aid and ‘donor-specific’ aid from Australia and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) crowding-in FDI in the long run. Donor-specific aid from the EU, the US, Japan and France, and sectoralbased ‘governance aid’ and ‘other aid’ either have non-robust positive or no significant long-run effects on FDI. In the short run, however, only EU-aid and other-aid have crowding-in effects on FDI. Foreign development aid can catalyse FDI inflows in postconflict Cambodia, especially in the long run.

Creating space for teacher voice: insights on professional development in two diverse settings

ABSTRACT This paper explores how child-centred practices introduced through international agencies into classrooms in post-conflict Cambodia and for Palestinian Refugees in Jordan, were perceived by the teachers tasked with implementing them. Using a case study methodology, data for both studies were drawn primarily from interviews with teachers in Cambodian primary schools and UNWRA schools, Jordan. Findings suggest that the pedagogical practices promoted are absent of contextual issues, including school/classroom environments and cultural understandings of teaching and learning. Our contention is that for teacher education programmes and policies to have their desired effect a central role for teachers must be prioritised.

Savina Sirik: Negotiating Memories. Survivor Narratives of Victimhood in Post-Conflict Cambodia

Savina Sirik: Negotiating Memories. Survivor Narratives of Victimhood in Post-Conflict Cambodia

Leading educational reconstruction in post-conflict Cambodia: Perspectives of primary school leaders

Despite the growing academic interests in educational leadership recently, hardly any of it has focused on post-conflict situations. This paper seeks to generate an understanding of the perspectives of primary school leaders in post-conflict Cambodia on the issues they face in the process of educational reconstruction and development and the strategies they adopt to deal with those issues. A qualitative research approach within the interpretivist paradigm was adopted to guide the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data with 20 primary school leaders. Data were analysed using grounded theory data analysis methods, namely, open coding and analytic induction. The study argues that while there has been substantial progress in educational reconstruction generally in post-conflict Cambodia, primary school leaders face multiple issues in their day-to-day work. Some of the issues may be specifically attributed to the legacies of armed conflict and genocide while others may refer to the broader context of the developing world. The findings have implications for policy and practice in educational leadership and further research in the post-conflict and developing-country contexts.

DOES FOREIGN AID PROMOTE DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS IN POST-CONFLICT CAMBODIA? EVIDENCE FROM ARDL BOUNDS TESTING APPROACH

Whether foreign aid promotes or hinders democratic institutions has been debated with opposing views. This paper investigates short- and long-run effects of foreign aid on democratization in post-conflict Cambodia using autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing and Gregory–Hansen structural break testing approach for cointegration over 1980–2015 period. The findings reveal that net bilateral foreign aid per capita, aggregated and classified into purpose-based ‘governance aid’, ‘economic aid’, ‘other aid’ and ‘donor-specific aid’ from the US, EU, France, Australia and Japan, promote long-run democratization. In the short run, only governance and economic aid appear to have a consistent positive effect on democratization.

Review: Angkor Wat: A Transcultural History of Heritage

Review: <i>Angkor Wat: A Transcultural History of Heritage</i>

Higher education in Cambodia: Engendered, postcolonial Western influences and Asian values

This research identifies the external historical influences on higher education in Cambodia and how this has affected local traditional values and socio-cultural perspectives. It provides an overview of the major contemporary Western neoliberal influences in this context. A critical review of the literature explores how traditional values and practices have interacted with these modern external influences. The paper finds that an emerging hybrid model has evolved in post-conflict Cambodia, formed via different development agendas, reflecting a struggle with traditional values, cultural heritage and history. The paper outlines a policy position for higher learning reform reflecting this hybrid model that advocates for traditional cultural, and historical influences to be promoted alongside a drive for modernization.

The Socio-economic Effect of Community-Driven Development in Conflict-affected Regions: Evidence from Cambodia

Community-driven development (CDD) has become increasingly common approach used by mul-tilateral development banks, governments, and NGOs to address the needs of the poor local communities in developing countries. CDD is characterized by the approach of giving control of decision and resources to the local community. CDD approaches are particularly prominent in conflict-affected communities which enables local community to regain sense of social cohesion and to restore livelihood. While much of literature focused on documenting the challenges and benefits of CDD approach in conflict affected context, what is yet to be established is whether CDD in conflict affected context can generate change in social and economic outcomes. Thus, this paper explores whether or not community-driven development (CDD) project af-fects a villages social capital and economic outcomes in post-conflict Cambodia. We compare the impact of CDD by looking at data from two rounds of surveys (baseline and endline). The results indicate that the project significantly strengthens the capacity of self-reliance, especially in vulnerable groups such as low-income, less educated and ethnic and religious minority house-holds. However, CDD was shown to have very limited impact on improving economic condition. Although the project slightly increases the household monthly income, the CDD project does not generate remarkable changes in community-level economic conditions. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 explains the historical background of Cambodia and the unique features of this CDD project. Section 3 describes the intervention and data collec-tion. Section 4 outlines the estimation models used in the analysis. In Section 5, we present the results of the program and explain their implications.

NGO Interventions in the Post-conflict Memoryscape. The Effect of Competing ‘Mnemonic Role Attributions’ on Reconciliation in Cambodia

ABSTRACTNon-governmental organisations (NGOs) are a constituent part of post-conflict Transitional Justice interventions and as such their projects shape but are also constrained by various narratives about the past. This article introduces the concept of mnemonic role attributions defined as the sum of how actors, their roles, their responsibility and their suffering are categorised as they are remembered regarding a certain period of time. The article analyses how different mnemonic role attributions that are propagated during interventions by Transitional Justice experts in civil society influence the potential for reconciliation in post-conflict Cambodia.

Songkites - exploring the impact of a therapeutic songwriting project in post-conflict Cambodia

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2017) 3(2):28–40DOI: 10.15212/CAET/2017/3/4 Songkites – exploring the impact of a therapeutic songwriting project in post-conflict Cambodia Songkites--探索治疗性歌曲创作项目在柬埔寨冲突后的影响 Carrie Herbert Ragamuffin International/Songkites, Cambodia Abstract Songkites is a therapeutic songwriting project. Its aim is to nurture creative expression, leadership and community through songwriting, production and performance with young people – both in Cambodia and in post-conflict contexts around the world. Following a devastating history, Cambodia is now re-building its creative and artistic identity. This paper explores how Songkites has contributed to the emergence of original songwriters and artists in popular youth culture. It also considers the impact that therapeutic music programs can have on both the individual and collective identity, and in post-conflict reconstruction. 摘要 Songkites是一个治疗歌曲创作项目。 其目的是通过与年轻人的歌曲创作、制作和表演来培养创造性表达，领导力和社区精神 – 无论是在柬埔寨还是在全球各地的冲突后环境中。 在破坏性的历史之后，柬埔寨正在重建其创造性和艺术的身份。 本文探讨Songkites是如何为流行青年文化中原创歌曲作者和艺术家的出现做出贡献的。 文章还关注了疗愈性音乐项目对个人和集体身份以及冲突后重建的影响。

The development of well-being and supervision programmes for caregivers in post conflict Cambodia: A creative response to the need for long term sustainability

Abstract This article will describe a creative arts therapy action research that engages organizations in a collaborative process in the development of effective responses to staff care and organizational well-being in the context of post conflict humanitarian work in Cambodia. Creative Arts Therapy techniques used in supervision, de-briefing and assessment processes were developed to support staff care well-being practice and policy creation in Cambodia with non-governmental organizations. This model revealed an acute need for effective staff care and well-being programmes across agencies and demonstrated a subsequent reduction in the levels of work-related stress and vicarious trauma. The model proposes the development of national guidelines for policy and practice alongside the building of capacity in national staff for ongoing evolution and implementation. It is further recommended that such developments need adequate time, support and resource investment for integration into a policy, structure and programming of an organization.

Hybrid governmentality: higher education policymaking in post-conflict Cambodia

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the kinds of higher education policy discourses embedded in major Cambodian higher education policy texts related to educational reform efforts undertaken by the government. The focus is on post-conflict Cambodia, that is, Cambodia since 1993 when the first national elections were organized after more than two decades of armed civil conflict. The paper argues that higher education policymaking in post-conflict Cambodia can be conceptualized as a new form of ‘hybrid governmentality’. In this hybrid form, the government draws on policy discourses associated with modern, liberal democracy to legitimize its existence. At the same time, it continues to insert its own discourses rooted in Cambodia’s traditional socio-cultural hierarchical order, unstable political frameworks, and legacies of prolonged civil upheaval.

Rural women with disabilities in post-conflict zones: the forgotten sisters of Australia’s disability-inclusive development

International interventions to reconstruct post-conflict societies emerging from civil war, genocide and violence have introduced formal democratic systems as the cornerstone to peace-building and the re-establishment of legitimate political systems. Political and gendered cultural systems and norms however, may be in tension with international demands for rights-based, participatory governance. This article explores these tensions within the context of the Australian Government’s disability-inclusive agenda in its aid and development programme in post-conflict Cambodia. Although the ‘interaction between gender and disability’ is a guiding principle of Australia’s aid programme, extensive analysis suggests that in practice it is largely gender-neutral.

The ethics of survival: Teaching the traditional arts to disadvantaged children in post-conflict Cambodia

Cambodia’s recent history of conflict and political instability has resulted in a recognized need to recover, regenerate, preserve and protect the nation’s cultural heritage. Many education programmes catering for disadvantaged youth have implemented traditional Khmer music and dance lessons, suggesting that these programmes share the responsibility of cultural regeneration, and view the survival of traditional art forms as dependent on their bequeathal to these young children. In this regard, the musical future of the country is, at least in part, dependent on the success of the vulnerable. However, these vulnerable students are living in a rapidly changing Cambodia, with higher levels of education, increasing international communications and influences, developing infrastructure, urbanization and fundamentally different ways of going about everyday life, work and leisure, to their parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Through semi-structured individual interviews conducted with Cambodian staff and music, dance and theatre teachers from three music and dance programmes provided by non-governmental organizations catering for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, we explore how the conflicting objectives of conservation and cosmopolitanism are negotiated and navigated in schools. This study explores themes of conservation, coexistence of multiple traditions and education in wider Cambodian society through performance. These themes are discussed in relation to the ethics of arts teaching, which—whilst intensified in the Cambodian context—are relevant beyond this particular case study.

Cambodia's Fertility Transition: The Dynamics of Contemporary Childbearing

Cambodia is undergoing a fertility transition with the total fertility rate falling from 6.7 before 1970 to 3.0 in 2010. This study is the first to examine the contemporary context of childbearing in Cambodia and the drivers of this transition analyzing the articulations of men and women and the rationales behind their fertility intentions and behavior. Findings are derived from 21 months of ethnographic fieldwork in urban and rural settings in Siem Reap. The article explains how patterns of reproduction are shaped by the specific context and social organization the political economy gender relations and kinship system. In Cambodia changes in employment conditions agricultural systems and living arrangements create new motivations that in turn affect fertility decisions. In post-conflict Cambodia rationales related to lineage continuation and the effects of the Khmer Rouge period also emerge as important influences.

Can elite corruption be a legitimate Machiavellian tool in an unruly world? The case of post-conflict Cambodia

Elite corruption may have a significant role in ending conflicts and shaping post-conflict development. This article enquires into the legitimacy accorded to such corruption. It reviews literature on post-conflict Cambodia, seeking evidence that academic commentaries, public opinion or elites themselves regard elite corruption as a legitimate Machiavellian tool for achieving other ends. Corruption has been an element of the style of government adopted by the dominant party in Cambodia, shaping both the achievement of peace and the uneven economic development that followed. Academic commentaries provide some implicit and explicit legitimation of corruption as a means to secure peace and to resist neoliberal policy settings by affording government discretionary resources and power. Meanwhile, public dissatisfaction with elite corruption appears to the most likely source of renewed violent conflict in Cambodia. How elite actors rationalise and legitimise corrupt behaviour remains poorly understood, and is deserving of more attention.

Creating Law from the Ground Up: Land Law in Post-Conflict Cambodia

AbstractSince 1990, successive waves of foreign experts have introduced legal transplants into Cambodia dealing with the possession, use, and ownership of land. The Land Law of 2001, sponsored by the World Bank, first created a registration system that made land ownership dependent exclusively on a central cadastral registry. The 2007 Civil Code, sponsored by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, subsequently cast doubt on the exclusivity of the registry by declaring it only presumptive evidence of ownership. Both laws are based on foreign models that presume economic, technical, and professional resources that Cambodia, as a very poor, post-conflict country, lacks. Despite recent efforts to reconcile the laws, implementation remains uneven and legal ambiguity persists. While it is too early to make conclusive judgments, the Cambodian experience brings into question not only the wisdom of top-down foreign intervention but also the desirability of any form of centralized formal legal construction in a society without the necessary social, political, and institutional prerequisites.

Cambodian returnees' entrepreneurial ventures

Purpose– The aim is to identify the potential for establishing successful businesses operations or institutions emanating from returnees' mixed embeddedness in post-conflict Cambodia.Design/methodology/approach– This explorative study of the two largest groups of returnees, the Cambodian French and the Cambodian Americans, compares these two categories through a review of literature on Cambodians in the USA and France and primary fieldwork data obtained through open interviews with Cambodian returnees in Cambodia.Findings– Cambodian French and Cambodian American returnees show different entrepreneurial dispositions and hence play different roles in the Cambodian economy. While the all-embracing welfare system in France incapacitated both the self-sufficiency and community building among Cambodian diaspora, the market-driven model of social services in the USA induced the Cambodian diaspora with a commercial orientation. While both categories initiate institutional and business ventures, their contribution to social change in Cambodia is modest. Among the returnee entrepreneurs, the Chinese Cambodians seem to be most successful in their business ventures irrespective of their diasporic background.Originality/value– The emerging scholarly interest in “immigrant transnationalism” tends to focus in particular on identity issues. Contrastingly, this article focuses on economic aspects of “immigrant transnationalism” in terms of its “mixed embeddedness” in both home and host country economies.

Cambodian National Education Policy: Global Wants or/and Local Needs?

This paper will explore the problems associated with educational reconstruction in post-conflict Cambodia using a globalization theoretical perspective. The main questions to be addressed are: to what extent is globalization influencing education policy development in post-conflict Cambodia? and how have multinational financial agencies influenced the creation and adoption of national education policies in post-conflict Cambodian society? This paper will offer an introduction to globalization theory and provide a policy analysis of recent Cambodian and multinational policy documents and directives. The policy analysis will demonstrate that the agendas of several major multi-national organizations have influenced educational policy in Cambodia due to the country’s continued dependence on foreign monetary assistance for development. Cet article cherche à explorer, par le biais d’une perspective théorique de globalisation, les problèmes issus de la reconstruction du système éducatif après le conflit cambodgien. Les questions principales sont les suivantes : jusqu’à quel point la globalisation influence-t-elle le développement des politiques éducatives et comment les agences financières multinationales ont-elles conditionnées la création et l’adoption de politiques éducatives nationales dans la société cambodgienne d’après guerre ? Cet article introduira la théorie de globalisation et analysera les documents et les directives politiques du Cambodge contemporain. L’analyse politique démontrera que les agendas de plusieurs organisations multinationales ont en effet influencé la politique éducative du Cambodge car le pays est continuellement dépendant financièrement de l’étranger.