Electrification as Decolonization: The Kirirom I Hydroelectric Station and Yugoslav-Cambodian Relations in the Cold War, 1956-1970

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Abstract

The experiences and perspectives of non-aligned nations during the Cold War continue to be a strong focus of Global Cold War studies. The opening up of archives in tandem with collaborative research among specialists of non-aligned nations across the Third World continue to yield alternative interpretations of Cold War antagonisms. As mentioned by Yugoslavia President Josip Broz Tito, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia may seem an unlikely ideological pairing (although both enjoyed cults of personality that kept them in power). Yet both shared a similar disdain for any pressure to dogmatically align with either bloc during the Cold War. Tito believed that many global issues, including development and decolonization, were tied to superpower aggression. The spectre of the Prague Spring and the subsequent deterioration of Soviet-Yugoslav relations urged Tito to rethink diplomatic relations with the non-aligned world, especially as he envisioned Yugoslavia as a leading advocate for alternative paths to socialism. Tito’s personal and diplomatic relationship with Cambodian Chief of State, therefore, was an example of his commitment to Third World independence and economic prosperity. One of the key contributions to Cambodian development made by Yugoslavia was the Kirirom I Hydroelectric Power Station, built in Cambodia from 1968-1969. This paper analyzes the Yugoslav-Cambodian partnership from the Cambodian perspective. Using documents from archives in Cambodia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, it examines non-aligned modernity from an environmental perspective and further explains how access to ecological resources was a central feature of national sovereignty. The creation of the Kirirom dam came after Sihanouk broke diplomatic and economic ties with the United States and was likely viewed as a chance to bolster his diplomatic neutrality and economically sovereignty. Therefore, the Kirirom I Hydroelectric Power Station not only stands today as an enduring feature of Third World collaboration—it demonstrates how decolonization and development intertwined with environmental politics in the Third World.

Author

• Thomas David Brown, Northern Illinois U