Young Cambodians and the Post-UNTAC Political Settlement

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Abstract

In 2013, Cambodia’s ruling political party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), encountered a surprisingly disappointing election result. The CPP’s obvious surprise in the face of its declining popularity and its subsequent rather fumbling efforts to create new policies which promote its image among young voters in particular represent the first faltering of CPP political dominance in 15 years. Much of the analysis of the 2013 election has suggested that a high turn-out of young voters was significantly responsible for the CPP’s loss of support. This suggests that the political settlement that emerged from the end of the war in the late 1990s and underpinned two subsequent decades of stability and economic growth may be inadequate to deal with the expectations and aspirations of the young generation now reaching voting age. This group comprises 33 per cent of the Cambodian electorate but has arguably been marginalized from key political processes and economic opportunities. Contrary to the formative experiences of their elders, this young generation has lived through an era of impressive economic growth resulting in rapid structural change. Importantly, unlike the previous generations that lived through the royalist and socialist eras, this generation has grown up with the idea of regular competitive elections in a multi-party system. This paper will investigate whether Cambodian youth have distinct patterns of political participation, and will seek to explain the changing nature of youth political engagement and the relationship between youth and the post war political settlement.

Author

• Netra Eng, Cambodia Development Research Institute