Cambodian politics: epidemics and pandemics

This event is organised as a part of the seminar Current dynamics in Southeast Asia. New perspectives in political economy and comparative politics

Soksamphoas Im: Empowering the State: Unveiling Cambodia’s Welfare Policy Impact on Governance

This talk examines Cambodia’s political landscape between 2013 and 2023, with a particular focus on the aftermath of key elections that shaped the country’s trajectory. It analyzes the political repercussions of the 2013 election, which marked a turning point in Cambodia’s governance, and the 2018 election, which solidified the nation’s transition into a one-party state under the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). Central to this analysis is the strategic maneuvering of Hun Sen, Cambodia’s longest-serving leader, in response to the populist challenge posed by the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP).

Following the CNRP’s electoral surge in 2013, Hun Sen undertook a dual approach of repression and co-optation to reinforce his regime’s legitimacy. This study first explores the systematic dismantling of the CNRP and the absorption of its political agenda into government policies. In the subsequent electoral cycle, it investigates the expansion of social welfare programs—many of which mirrored the CNRP’s key seven-point policies—such as the Identification of Poor Households (IDPoor) cash transfer system and social security schemes targeting vulnerable populations.

By strategically combining coercion with policy reforms, Hun Sen not only neutralized political opposition but also enhanced his regime’s resilience, culminating in a successful transfer of power to his son. This talk highlights the complex interplay between state repression, populist adaptation, and welfare policy in sustaining authoritarian rule in Cambodia under Hun Sen’s leadership.

Dr. Soksamphoas Im is the Associate Director of the Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University and an Affiliated Scholar at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan. Her research examines social, health, and labor policy, as well as populism and authoritarian politics in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on Cambodia and Thailand. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and an M.Sc. in Defense, Development, and Diplomacy from Durham University.

Neil Loughlin: Transnational Organized Crime and Embedded Corruption in Cambodia

Cambodia has become a major hub for transnational online scam operations, a phenomenon deeply entangled with the country’s entrenched corruption and patronage networks. Despite rhetorical commitments to anti-corruption from new leadership, illicit activities continue to thrive, often operating in close proximity to political elites.

This talk examines how historical patterns of state illegality and corruption have shaped Cambodia’s political economy from the post-Khmer Rouge era to today. It explores the structural factors that enable transnational organized crime to integrate into the state apparatus, the complicity of local tycoons and foreign actors, and the challenges of meaningful reform within an authoritarian system. By situating Cambodia’s cyber-scam industry within broader regional trends, the discussion will also highlight the global implications of this nexus between organized crime and state corruption.

Dr. Neil Loughlin is a Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at City, St George's, University of London. His research focuses on authoritarian politics and the political economy of development. His first book, The Politics of Coercion: State and Regime Making in Cambodia, was published by Cornell University Press in September 2024. His work has appeared in leading academic journals, including Comparative Politics, Democratization, Third World Quarterly, and the Journal of Contemporary Asia.

Discussant: Dr Astrid Norén-Nilsson

Dr. Astrid Norén-Nilsson is a Senior Lecturer in The Study of Modern Southeast Asia at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University. Her research focuses on the contemporary politics of Cambodia. She is the author of Cambodia's Second Kingdom: Nation, Imagination, and Democracy (Cornell SEAP, 2016) and co-editor of Civil Society Elites: Field Studies from Cambodia and Indonesia (NIAS Press, 2023), and the Palgrave Handbook of Political Norms in Southeast Asia (Palgrave, 2024).