Nationalism: is generally described as excessive patriotism or pride in one’s respective country. It is not restricted by any boundaries and any one person can a sense of nationalism in their country. Extreme cases of nationalism can reach a point where one views their country as superior in comparison to other countries and develops hatred against other countries. In turn, this could affect how a country behaves globally when interacting with other countries. Historically, it has led to conflicts between countries regarding control and power. Nationalism is often compared to the term patriotism, but patriotism separates itself from nationalism in the aspect that it is based on the appreciation and love for a country. Patriotism is more passive by nature and nationalism is more aggressive by nature.
Below: French Indochina
Nationalism in Cambodia is a very interesting subject because of its extremely complex national and political history. Starting with its colonization by the French in 1867 when Cambodia renounced to France in exchange for neighboring provinces to be re-established under Cambodia. France then grouped many additional colonized countries in that region as French Indochina. France heavily influenced the up incoming rulers of Cambodia to maintain control of Cambodia within Indochina. As time led on, the people of Cambodia would strive for independence, which most likely stemmed from a united sense of nationalism. On November 9th, 1953, Cambodia declared independence from France with a large influence from multiple French conflicts. As French Indochina was dismantled Cambodia lost its former area of control to Vietnam and Thailand.
The Vietnamese War (1955-1975) is a landmark event that took place in Cambodia. Only a couple of years after becoming independent, the Vietnamese War shook Cambodia’s political landscape and caused many issues internally and externally. The Cambodian leader at the time, Norodom Sihanouk, initially decided to attempt to remain completely neutral concerning political sides in the war. Cambodia allowed the Northern Vietnamese (Communists) to reside in Cambodia and use it to tactically maneuver against the Southern Vietnamese. Contrarily, the people of Cambodia disapproved of this behavior allowing
them to do so and felt it harmed Cambodia’s morals and its global image. Although it is important to note that maintaining a sense of neutrality goes both ways, and so the Cambodian political leaders at the time said they had no issue if the US decided to bomb Northern Vietnam so long that Cambodia does not get harmed. After some years into the Vietnamese war, the Cambodian people’s dislike helped rally them under General Prime Minister Lon Nol and perform a coup d’état (Occurring in 1970) to overthrow the prime minister. Once in power, Northern Vietnamese communists were immediately demanded to get out. Naturally, the Northern Vietnamese group, Khmer Rouge, resisted and maintained wanted to maintain their position in Cambodia. The retaliation sparked a battle between the communist party of the Vietnamese party of Khmer Rouge plus its Cambodian communist allies Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and put them against the anti-communist government of Cambodia.
The CPK was led by Pol Pot and eventually overtook most of the territory in Cambodia, but along the conquest, the CPK gained enough power to no longer needed the help of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot killed many people in the Khmer Rouge to maintain a Nationalist orientated communist party and establish dominance between the allies. In 1975 the CPK and Khmer Rouge overthrew the Cambodian government and Cambodia reigned under communist rule. The new government was headed by the nationalist leader Pol Pot, and he imagined an elite communist society for Cambodia in which he murdered an estimated 2 million people and specifically targeted ethnic minorities to accomplish this goal.
In 1978, Pol Pot was forced out of Cambodia in an attempted invasion by the Vietnamese in response to Pol Pot’s purge of Vietnamese people. In 1981 he and his subordinates decided to drop the ideology of communism, dissolve the CPK and make a nationalist group focus on getting the rebelling Vietnamese army out of Cambodia. War continued in the 1980s until 1991 when the UN enforced a cease-fire. And finally, in 1993 a monarchy was established, and the previous leader Norodom Sihanouk was established as King, and Cambodia continues to operate as a constitutional monarchy today.
Through Cambodia’s long and complicated history one can see the influence of nationalism and what kind of effect it can have. Pol Pot believed himself to a true nationalist and everything he did was in the best interest of the country, and as many know, Pol Pot orchestrated the mass genocide of Vietnamese people, ethnic minorities, and those who opposed him. Shortly before his death, he was recorded saying “I want you to know that everything I did, I did for my country”. He truly believed that for Cambodia to progress that he had to do the things he did. The idea of nationalism also rested within the people of Cambodia as they rose to fight against a government that they felt did not properly represent Cambodia and became an enemy to the people.
Inequality in Cambodia has fluctuated a large amount over the past recent decades of political stability in the country. From the year 2008 – 2012 and its GINI (measurement of the income distribution) went from 41 – 31. This dramatic reversal is thanks to the efforts of the newly established government and support from outside countries attempting to help, especially China and its effort to help Cambodia progress as a country. In relation to the US, Cambodia has a better inequality rate and has one of the better rates globally. It also only has a 17.70% poverty rate, which is very good considering its recent history and the destruction war brings. Unfortunately, a developing country was hit very hard by Covid-19 and the overall GDP has gone down since then, and the addition of the Russia-Ukraine war has implications that could hinder the recovery of Cambodia.
Article by Daniel Asiamah
