A fascinating analysis of the recent history of the beautiful but troubled Southeast Asian nation of Cambodia To many in the West, the name Cambodia still conjures up indelible images of destruction and death, the legacy of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime and the terror it inflicted in its attempt to create a communist utopia in the 1970s. Sebastian Strangio, a journalist based in the capital city of Phnom Penh, now offers an eye-opening appraisal of modern-day Cambodia in the years following its emergence from bitter conflict and bloody upheaval.   In the early 1990s, Cambodia became the focus of the UN’s first great post–Cold War nation-building project, with billions in international aid rolling in to support the fledgling democracy. But since the UN-supervised elections in 1993, the nation has slipped steadily backward into neo-authoritarian rule under Prime Minister Hun Sen. Behind a mirage of democracy, ordinary people have few rights and corruption infuses virtually every facet of everyday life. In this lively and compelling study, the first of its kind, Strangio explores the present state of Cambodian society under Hun Sen’s leadership, painting a vivid portrait of a nation struggling to reconcile the promise of peace and democracy with a violent and tumultuous past. "A well-researched and valuable narrative of a fast-changingcountry and essential reading for anyone interested in Cambodia's recent history." - South China Morning Post "This book is a must for anyone who wants to understand Hun Sen's rise to power." - The World Today "After reading this hugely compelling book, however, it is impossible not to regard [Hun Sen] as a genius that any would-be parliamentary autocrat should study." - The National "An eloquent account of a chapter in Cambodia's history that has for too long been neglected." - Bangkok Post "Detailed and perceptive... Strangio's book will remain of fundamental importance for many years to come." - Milton Osborne, author of Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness "Undoubtedly the best analysis of the current regime of Cambodia... essential reading." - François Ponchaud, author of Cambodia: Year Zero "Sebastian Strangio has filled a big void with this much needed history of modern Cambodia... This book will set the standard for years to come." - Elizabeth Becker, author of When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution "A long overdue expose of Cambodian thugocracy and its Western enablers... 'Hun Sen's Cambodia' is must reading for anyone who wants to make sense of recent Cambodian history." - Peter Maguire, author of Facing Death in Cambodia "An exceptionally insightful biography of the world's longest-serving prime minister... a first-class analysis of contemporary Cambodian political history." - Carlyle A. Thayer, author of War By Other Means: National Liberation and Revolution in Vietnam "An absorbing, clear-eyed evaluation of Cambodia today... A persuasive reading of its turbulent recent history, as it explores the connections between Hun Sen's enduring dictatorship and Cambodia's painful emergence, willy-nilly, into a larger, freer, very demanding world." - David Chandler, author of Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot S ebastian Strangio  is a journalist and author focusing on Southeast Asia. Over the past decade he has roamed widely across the region and his writing has appeared in Foreign Policy, The New York Times, the New Republic, Foreign Affairs, and The Atlantic, among many other publications. From 2008 to 2011 he was reporter and editor at the Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia's oldest English-language newspaper. He currently splits his time between Phnom Penh and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Hun Sen's Cambodia By Sebastian Strangio Yale UNIVERSITY PRESS Copyright © 2014 Sebastian Strangio All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-300-19072-4 Contents Introduction: A Mirage on the Mekong, vii, Map of Cambodia, xvi, 1 Against the Ages, 1, 2 The Second Revolution, 21, 3 The Wages of Peace, 42, 4 A False Dawn, 62, 5 Potemkin Democracy, 89, 6 The Peasant King, 110, 7 Hunsenomics and Its Discontents, 131, 8 "A City With No Smoke and No Sound", 152, 9 The Scramble for Cambodia, 171, 10 A Hundred Lotuses Blooming?, 191, 11 An Improbable State, 211, 12 UNTAC Redux, 235, Epilogue: A Cambodian Spring?, 258, Notes, 267, Further Reading, 293, Illustration Acknowledgments, 298, Acknowledgments, 299, Index, 301, CHAPTER 1 Against the Ages "That's where the killing fields begin." Mao Vei extended an arm eastward, past a low concrete fence and a wall of green bamboo, toward the groves and orchards of the dead. The tall green mango and papaya trees stretched over three hectares. They were planted here 30 years ago, and their roots still mingle with the remains of the thousands killed at Wat O Trakuon, a Buddhist pagoda and former Khmer Rouge prison in whose grounds the 67-yea