Repeated Multiparty Elections in Cambodia: Intensifying Authoritarianism Yet Benefiting the Masses

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-592
Author(s):  
Sivhuoch Ou
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Party System ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Dominant Party ◽  
Authoritarian Government ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Ruling Party

The United Nations (UN) introduced multiparty elections to Cambodia in 1993 in the hope of bringing about democracy in that country. Ironically, the two-and-a-half decades of uninterrupted elections have led to an ever-more authoritarian government under Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). Authoritarianism under the single-dominant party system began in 1997, but has intensified since 2017 with the ban on the leading opposition party. While concurring that repetitive elections have consolidated authoritarianism, this paper argues that elections are not merely tools that authoritarian leaders deploy to hold on to power. Elections are arguably mechanisms that have compelled the CPP to offer several extraordinary economic concessions since 2013; this is the first argument of the paper. The developments have created a win-win scenario for the rulers and the ruled—the authoritarian leaders prolong their rule, and the masses have more disposable income, among various benefits. The second argument is that such policy concessions are made only when the ruling party senses critical challenges from the opposition and voters. This paper contributes to the literature arguing that multiparty elections in electoral authoritarian regimes extract economic policy concessions.

scholarly journals Interparty and Intraparty Factionalism in Cambodian Politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sorpong Peou
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Historical Institutionalism ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Party State ◽  
Opposition Parties

Cambodia’s hegemonic party system that emerged after the violent removal of First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh early in July 1997 has now given way to a one-party state, which still remains prone to tension and instability. The party system has become less factionalised and can be characterised as moving from high to medium factionalism. This development resulted from the growing domination of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the weakening of the opposition parties, such as National United Front for an Independent, Netural, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia, which splintered and become almost irrelevant in Cambodian politics. The Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) emerged as the main opposition party after the 2013 election but was then banned from competing in the 2018 election. Although the CNRP remains united by its anti-CPP position, it is still fractured along political lines between two former opposition parties – the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party. Historical institutionalism sheds some new light on the variation of political developments among political parties and within them, but does not supplant the fact that party leaders are rational to the extent that they select strategies in pursuit of their interests defined as power or security under specific institutional constraints or the lack thereof.

Cambodia’s hegemonic-party system: How and why the CPP became dominant

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sorpong Peou
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Party System ◽  
Relative Power ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Major Powers ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
And Control ◽  
Shed Light

This article seeks to shed light on how and why the Cambodian People’s Party (the CPP) emerged and became dominant in the multi-party system formally introduced to Cambodia when the United Nations intervened in the early 1990s. Historical factors, relative power, leadership, and tactics matter a great deal. Hun Sen has been in power for more than 30 years and his effectiveness can be attributed to three tactics: coercion, co-option, and control. The post-Cold War environment also made it possible for the CPP government to use these tactics successfully, as major powers preferred to work with Hun Sen or did little to undermine him.

scholarly journals Polityka w cieniu koronawirusa

Politeja ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6(75)) ◽  
pp. 119-142
Author(s):  
Ryszard Żelichowski
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Child Benefits ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
Ruling Party

Politics in the Shadow of COVID-19: Parliamentary Election in the Kingdom of the Netherlands On March 15-17, 2021, the first parliamentary elections in the European Union during the pandemic took place in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The political authorities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands decided to hold the elections despite severe sanitary restrictions and curfew. On January 15, 2021, the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, chairman of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), handed over the resignation of the entire government to the King. The immediate cause was the report of the parliamentary investigative commission announced in December 2020 on the extremely restrictive operation of local tax offices in connection with government child benefits. Mark Rutte has been running the country efficiently since 2010 and was also a favorite in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The elections were conducted without any disturbances. 37 parties were admitted to elections, the largest number in the post-war history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The election winners were ruling party VVD party and progressive liberals from D’66. The discussion on the formation of the new government has already started and is accompanied by great emotions. It is going to be a long period of negotiations and their results are difficult to be predicted. The article presents the main actors of this parliamentary game.

The End of a Culture of Impunity in Rwanda? Prosecution of Genocide and War Crimes before Rwandan Courts and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 161-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Cissé
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Plane Crash ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Culture Of Impunity ◽  
Ruling Party

Following the death of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana in a plane crash on 6 April 1994, Hutu extremists, members of the Presidential Guard, Rwandan army troops, theInterhamwe(‘Those who work together’) militia affiliated to the ruling party, the M.R.N.D. (Mouvement Révolutionaire National pour la Démocratie) and theImpuzamugambi(‘Those with a single purpose’) militia of the extremist CDR Party (Coalition pour la Défense de la République) began the systematic and widespread killings of Tutsi civilians in the capital Kigali. Hutu moderates were also targeted. Early victims of the violence included Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana along with ten Belgian soldiers of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). This incident prompted the withdrawal of UNAMIR which left the perpetrators of the genocide a free rein. Ministers and the President of the Constitutional Court were also killed within hours of the plane crash.

scholarly journals Kekalahan Cambodia People’s Party di Wilayah Urban Kamboja pada Pemilu Tahun 2013

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 271
Author(s):  
Farizan Fajari
Keyword(s):  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Phnom Penh ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Dominant Party

Kamboja merupakan salah satu negara yang menerapkan sistem pemilu otoriter. Kondisi tersebut dimanfaatkan oleh partai penguasa, Cambodia People’s Party (CPP), sebagai sarana untuk mendominasi kursi parlemen Kamboja hingga pemilu tahun 2008. Namun, peta kekuatan partai politik di Kamboja mengalami perubahan pada pemilu tahun 2013. Pada pemilu tersebut, perolehan kursi CPP mengalami penurunan signifikan dan menjadi hasil terburuk bagi mereka sejak pemilu tahun 1998. Penurunan tersebut utamanya dilatarbelakangi oleh kegagalan CPP dalam mendapatkan kursi terbanyak di empat wilayah urban Kamboja: Kampong Cham, Phnom Penh, Prey Veng, dan Kandal, yang memiliki proporsi jumlah kursi terbanyak. Padahal, CPP sebelumnya tidak pernah mengalami kekalahan di keempat wilayah tersebut secara bersamaan. Artikel ini berargumen bahwa kekalahan CPP dalam rezim otoriter disebabkan oleh kondisi-kondisi penting yang terjadi di Kamboja. Dengan mengelaborasi teori Dominant Party Authoritarian Regimes dan konsep pengawas pemilu internasional, artikel ini melihat tiga kondisi penting yang terjadi di Kamboja yang menjadi penyebab menurunnya suara CPP di perkotaan, yaitu: kebijakan pemerintahan Hun Sen yang menyebabkan permasalahan dalam masyarakat, menguatnya partai oposisi dan keberhasilan isu dan strategi kampanye yang digunakan, dan peran pengawas pemilu internasional dalam menurunkan praktik intimidasi politik oleh militer. Dalam mengumpulkan data, artikel ini menggunakan metode kualitatif, dengan cara mengumpulkan data primer melalui wawancara mendalam dan analisis data sekunder dari kajian literatur.

Educative Interventions to Combat Misinformation: Evidence from a Field Experiment in India

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
SUMITRA BADRINATHAN
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Party System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Literacy Intervention ◽  
Pedagogical Intervention ◽  
Learning Module ◽  
Low Education ◽  
Ruling Party

Misinformation makes democratic governance harder, especially in developing countries. Despite its real-world import, little is known about how to combat misinformation outside of the United States, particularly in places with low education, accelerating Internet access, and encrypted information sharing. This study uses a field experiment in India to test the efficacy of a pedagogical intervention on respondents’ ability to identify misinformation during the 2019 elections (N = 1,224). Treated respondents received hour-long in-person media literacy training in which enumerators discussed inoculation strategies, corrections, and the importance of verifying misinformation, all in a coherent learning module. Receiving this hour-long media literacy intervention did not significantly increase respondents’ ability to identify misinformation on average. However, treated respondents who support the ruling party became significantly less able to identify pro-attitudinal stories. These findings point to the resilience of misinformation in India and the presence of motivated reasoning in a traditionally nonideological party system.

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