Cambodia Reborn? The Transition to Democracy and Development

When United Nations-sponsored elections were held in 1993, there were high hopes that Cambodia would finally be able to escape the long nightmare of war, the "killing fields", forced migration and economic turmoil. Large amounts of international assistance, a rapidly expanding NGO sector and a pragmatic power-sharing arrangement between former adversaries seemed to bode well for the future. Yet as the country once again prepared for elections in 1998, serious tensions and conflicts continued to undermine the transition process. In this book, Grant Curtis examines Cambodia's uneasy renaissance, focusing particularly on efforts by the government, international agencies and NGOs to facilitate transitions to peace, democracy and a market economy.

His assessment of the rehabilitation and development process following the withdrawal of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in late 1993 is mixed. Thanks in large measure to the resourcefulness and resilience of the Cambodian people, important aspects of the economy and social fabric were quickly rebuilt. Yet violent conflict and political instability continued throughout much of the period, crime and corruption increased, and the pattern of economic growth was both unbalanced and environmentally destructive.