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Peasants And Politics In Kampuchea 1942-1981
English, French (translation)
- GenresNonfiction
401 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
32 people want to read
About the author
Ben Kiernan
15 books29 followersDr. Benedict F. Kiernan is an American academic and historian. He obtained his PhD from Monash University, Australia in 1983 under the supervision of David P. Chandler. He joined the Yale History Department in 1990, and founded the award-winning Cambodian Genocide Program at the Yale Center for International and Area Studies in 1994, and the comparative Genocide Studies Program in 1998. He is the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of History, Professor of International and Area Studies and Director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University. His previous books include How Pol Pot Came to Power: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Communism in Cambodia, 1930–1975 and The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979, published by Yale University Press.
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October 15, 2014
Peasants and Politics in Kampuchea, 1942-1981. Edited by Ben Kiernan & Chantou Boua
Edited by husband and wife, Peasants and Politics in Kampuchea, 1942-1981, situates itself during a tumultuous period in Cambodia’s tragic and baffling political history. Published not long after as an academic response to the genocidal and murderous regime, this detailed and scrupulously documented volume of literature has been highly insightful, illuminating and illustrating the backdrop of socio-economic-political conditions of the rural peasantry and intellectuals that led to the events of 1970-1978.
Ben Kiernan is an Australian historian who is prominent for his role as the founding Director of the Cambodian Genocide Studies Program. In the aftermath of the Communist Regime, he has been involved in writing papers on the Cambodian genocide, receiving critical acclaim for several of his published works. Chantou Boua, Kiernan’s wife, is a native Cambodian and a highly respectable figure who has worked on various development programs in Cambodia. Noted as remarkable researchers among the growing field of scholars exploring Cambodia’s recent history, these co-editors have sought to uncover the ideologies, strategies, motivations and multi-faceted peasantry movements undergirding the political complexities of Sihanouk’s independent Kampuchea, Pol Pot’s revolutionary regime and present day People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK).
They call for a re-focus on the internal dynamics of modern Kampuchea’s society and politics, pertaining to local peasant conditions and their relations with the ruling elites. Overall, they argue that the emergence of the Kampuchean communist regime was a summation of domestically rooted factors that evolved and developed in light of worsening socio-economic conditions, hierarchical stratifications, and political oppression, downplaying the role external forces in spurring on this movement. Thus, this book is an excellent starting reference for people seeking to delve further into this highly debatable ground of events in the recent history of modern Kampuchea.
At the beginning, Kiernan paints a comprehensive overview of Cambodia’s history and socio-economic structure from the colonial presence of the French to the Democratic Kampuchea Regime while introducing key actors such as Prince Sihanouk and Pol Pot. Divided into three key sections in chronological order, Part 1 sets the stage with Kampuchean peasantry conditions, identifying their poor socio-economic conditions and exploited state. Drawing from the extracts of doctoral dissertations belonging to active socialists –Hou Yuon and Hu Nim, their exposure to Marxist concepts are evident in their studies. Here, they outline the existing rural social structure and the forms of exploitation such as “Usury” (p.63-67) and “Tenancy” (p.80) that sustain the hierarchy, thus calling for the need to alleviate these conditions via the implementation of a Socialist transformation involving “Co-operative Methods” (p.138-139) under part 2 by Hou Yuon.
Part 2 sets off with the political progression in Cambodia by Michael Vickery from 1942 to 1976, presenting readers with an overview of the country’s developments, namely, the road to independence in 1945, the dissolution of the democratic party, Sihanouk’s absolutist Sangkum system and approaches of neutrality in domestic and foreign politics, and the eventual breakdown of the socio-political fabric under Sihanouk and subsequently Lon Nol. In the following chapters, it provides in-depth accounts of rural dissidence leading up to the Khmer Rouge –1) the stirrings of nationalist movements against the French by Buchan Mul, 2) socio-economic reforms for the exploited peasant communities by Hou Yuon as aforementioned, and 3) the Khmer Issarak who fought against the French, the peasant movements of the Samlaut rebellion 1967-1968 against corrupt ruling elites and exploitive conditions, and the 1970 peasant uprising against Lon Nol, by Kiernan.
In the final section, the focus is on Democratic Kampuchea, the rise of Pol Pot, and its aftermath. Here, Kiernan is commendable in his contribution in light of the minimal scholarly work available on this revolution, mobilizing dormant knowledge via the scrutinization of documents, on-the-ground observations and interviews with refugees. He examines the differing ideologies of 3 major divergent political tendencies in the Kampuchean communist movements, Pol Pot’s faction committed to autarkic ideologies, a pro-Chinese Cultural Revolution faction involving Hu Nim, and a pro-Vietnamese faction involving Heng Samrin. With polarizing views towards Vietnamese intentions and collaborating with Sihanouk, Pol Pot’s hard-line rule eventually dominated the political sphere in 1977 while eliminating the other 2 factions, bringing on widespread destruction, especially on bordering Vietnam regions in an attempt to ‘reclaim’ Kampuchea’s territory. This is followed by real-life testimonies of nine Democratic Kampuchean survivors where Kiernan provides snapshots of life and social reorganization during the regime. Kiernan then concludes with his own account of the new post-Khmer Rouge regime during his visit in the 1980s, portraying a generally positive picture of the Vietnamese presence that freed people from Pol Pot’s extremist actions and revived Khmer culture.
Presenting its readers with a comprehensive and diverse range of information, Kiernan and Chantou do well in unravelling the complexities of the tragic occurrences from the colonial to the Democratic Kampuchea period. Particularly so is their exposure of internal mechanisms of Khmer Rouge operations and governing principles, allowing readers to draw the connection of preceding events of peasantry and political conditions to Pol Pot’s rise to power and his autarkic mode of rule, isolating the country within his extremist political and economic views. However, as mentioned previously, their concentrated focus on the indigenous groundings, though insightful, may be misguiding and over-presumptuous on certain aspects. For instance, the work of two Marxist -intellectuals oversteps the existence of exploitive actions like landlordlism and usury. In reality, with accordance to other sources, its existence was not as prevalent or severe. As such, this ‘Marxist’ tainted perspective may override crucial elements of communist movements, notably, the sidelining of the external environment where dealings with North Vietnamese Communists, the Vietnam War, the Cultural Revolution and US involvement in domestic politics, are inextricably tied to the formation and shaping of the Khmer Rouge movement. This downplay of foreign causes was further reinforced by essays that claimed Sihanouk to be misguided in his insistence that rural dissidence were instigated by international actors.
Also, Kiernan appears to paint the Vietnamese in a highly favorable light, conspicuously evident in his final chapter where he is supportive of the Vietnamese presence in the PRK that has liberated the people, restoring their vitality. In preceding chapters, he consistently implies that the Vietnamese were benevolent and peace-loving, having no ambitions or intentions in establishing their political presence. However, this leaning towards an ‘overly’ pro-Vietnamese stance questions the longstanding enmity between Cambodia and Vietnam, and the preference for Vietnam’s presence over Cambodia’s Independence where notions of foreign conquests have been justified in the pursuit of peace.
As in all academic works, the notion of objective truth is almost impossible and is constantly undermined by various ideologies and worldviews, resulting in divergent perceptions towards recent events in Cambodia. Nonetheless, this collection of documents on the Kampuchean revolution is definitely a valuable read due to the limited literature available regarding the region. Despite the torrent (overwhelming at times) of factual information loaded into this book, such informational knowledge can be used as a platform of reference to engage further in debates or discussions revolving around the controversial reign of Sihanouk, the enormity of genocidal crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge and the rationales behind it, the reign of Democratic Kampuchea and nuanced sympathies for individual cadres and peasantry involvement in the regime.
(1,200 words)
References:
Kiernan, Ben. (1982). Peasants and Politics in Kampuchea, 1945-1981, edited by Ben Kiernan and Chanthou Boua. London: Zed Press; New York: M.E.Sharpe Inc.
Edited by husband and wife, Peasants and Politics in Kampuchea, 1942-1981, situates itself during a tumultuous period in Cambodia’s tragic and baffling political history. Published not long after as an academic response to the genocidal and murderous regime, this detailed and scrupulously documented volume of literature has been highly insightful, illuminating and illustrating the backdrop of socio-economic-political conditions of the rural peasantry and intellectuals that led to the events of 1970-1978.
Ben Kiernan is an Australian historian who is prominent for his role as the founding Director of the Cambodian Genocide Studies Program. In the aftermath of the Communist Regime, he has been involved in writing papers on the Cambodian genocide, receiving critical acclaim for several of his published works. Chantou Boua, Kiernan’s wife, is a native Cambodian and a highly respectable figure who has worked on various development programs in Cambodia. Noted as remarkable researchers among the growing field of scholars exploring Cambodia’s recent history, these co-editors have sought to uncover the ideologies, strategies, motivations and multi-faceted peasantry movements undergirding the political complexities of Sihanouk’s independent Kampuchea, Pol Pot’s revolutionary regime and present day People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK).
They call for a re-focus on the internal dynamics of modern Kampuchea’s society and politics, pertaining to local peasant conditions and their relations with the ruling elites. Overall, they argue that the emergence of the Kampuchean communist regime was a summation of domestically rooted factors that evolved and developed in light of worsening socio-economic conditions, hierarchical stratifications, and political oppression, downplaying the role external forces in spurring on this movement. Thus, this book is an excellent starting reference for people seeking to delve further into this highly debatable ground of events in the recent history of modern Kampuchea.
At the beginning, Kiernan paints a comprehensive overview of Cambodia’s history and socio-economic structure from the colonial presence of the French to the Democratic Kampuchea Regime while introducing key actors such as Prince Sihanouk and Pol Pot. Divided into three key sections in chronological order, Part 1 sets the stage with Kampuchean peasantry conditions, identifying their poor socio-economic conditions and exploited state. Drawing from the extracts of doctoral dissertations belonging to active socialists –Hou Yuon and Hu Nim, their exposure to Marxist concepts are evident in their studies. Here, they outline the existing rural social structure and the forms of exploitation such as “Usury” (p.63-67) and “Tenancy” (p.80) that sustain the hierarchy, thus calling for the need to alleviate these conditions via the implementation of a Socialist transformation involving “Co-operative Methods” (p.138-139) under part 2 by Hou Yuon.
Part 2 sets off with the political progression in Cambodia by Michael Vickery from 1942 to 1976, presenting readers with an overview of the country’s developments, namely, the road to independence in 1945, the dissolution of the democratic party, Sihanouk’s absolutist Sangkum system and approaches of neutrality in domestic and foreign politics, and the eventual breakdown of the socio-political fabric under Sihanouk and subsequently Lon Nol. In the following chapters, it provides in-depth accounts of rural dissidence leading up to the Khmer Rouge –1) the stirrings of nationalist movements against the French by Buchan Mul, 2) socio-economic reforms for the exploited peasant communities by Hou Yuon as aforementioned, and 3) the Khmer Issarak who fought against the French, the peasant movements of the Samlaut rebellion 1967-1968 against corrupt ruling elites and exploitive conditions, and the 1970 peasant uprising against Lon Nol, by Kiernan.
In the final section, the focus is on Democratic Kampuchea, the rise of Pol Pot, and its aftermath. Here, Kiernan is commendable in his contribution in light of the minimal scholarly work available on this revolution, mobilizing dormant knowledge via the scrutinization of documents, on-the-ground observations and interviews with refugees. He examines the differing ideologies of 3 major divergent political tendencies in the Kampuchean communist movements, Pol Pot’s faction committed to autarkic ideologies, a pro-Chinese Cultural Revolution faction involving Hu Nim, and a pro-Vietnamese faction involving Heng Samrin. With polarizing views towards Vietnamese intentions and collaborating with Sihanouk, Pol Pot’s hard-line rule eventually dominated the political sphere in 1977 while eliminating the other 2 factions, bringing on widespread destruction, especially on bordering Vietnam regions in an attempt to ‘reclaim’ Kampuchea’s territory. This is followed by real-life testimonies of nine Democratic Kampuchean survivors where Kiernan provides snapshots of life and social reorganization during the regime. Kiernan then concludes with his own account of the new post-Khmer Rouge regime during his visit in the 1980s, portraying a generally positive picture of the Vietnamese presence that freed people from Pol Pot’s extremist actions and revived Khmer culture.
Presenting its readers with a comprehensive and diverse range of information, Kiernan and Chantou do well in unravelling the complexities of the tragic occurrences from the colonial to the Democratic Kampuchea period. Particularly so is their exposure of internal mechanisms of Khmer Rouge operations and governing principles, allowing readers to draw the connection of preceding events of peasantry and political conditions to Pol Pot’s rise to power and his autarkic mode of rule, isolating the country within his extremist political and economic views. However, as mentioned previously, their concentrated focus on the indigenous groundings, though insightful, may be misguiding and over-presumptuous on certain aspects. For instance, the work of two Marxist -intellectuals oversteps the existence of exploitive actions like landlordlism and usury. In reality, with accordance to other sources, its existence was not as prevalent or severe. As such, this ‘Marxist’ tainted perspective may override crucial elements of communist movements, notably, the sidelining of the external environment where dealings with North Vietnamese Communists, the Vietnam War, the Cultural Revolution and US involvement in domestic politics, are inextricably tied to the formation and shaping of the Khmer Rouge movement. This downplay of foreign causes was further reinforced by essays that claimed Sihanouk to be misguided in his insistence that rural dissidence were instigated by international actors.
Also, Kiernan appears to paint the Vietnamese in a highly favorable light, conspicuously evident in his final chapter where he is supportive of the Vietnamese presence in the PRK that has liberated the people, restoring their vitality. In preceding chapters, he consistently implies that the Vietnamese were benevolent and peace-loving, having no ambitions or intentions in establishing their political presence. However, this leaning towards an ‘overly’ pro-Vietnamese stance questions the longstanding enmity between Cambodia and Vietnam, and the preference for Vietnam’s presence over Cambodia’s Independence where notions of foreign conquests have been justified in the pursuit of peace.
As in all academic works, the notion of objective truth is almost impossible and is constantly undermined by various ideologies and worldviews, resulting in divergent perceptions towards recent events in Cambodia. Nonetheless, this collection of documents on the Kampuchean revolution is definitely a valuable read due to the limited literature available regarding the region. Despite the torrent (overwhelming at times) of factual information loaded into this book, such informational knowledge can be used as a platform of reference to engage further in debates or discussions revolving around the controversial reign of Sihanouk, the enormity of genocidal crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge and the rationales behind it, the reign of Democratic Kampuchea and nuanced sympathies for individual cadres and peasantry involvement in the regime.
(1,200 words)
References:
Kiernan, Ben. (1982). Peasants and Politics in Kampuchea, 1945-1981, edited by Ben Kiernan and Chanthou Boua. London: Zed Press; New York: M.E.Sharpe Inc.
June 3, 2013
Insightful if uneven study of the period. Whilst some of the contributions are a little hard going much of it is very engaging. Two essays by Kiernan on the Samulat rebellion and the Cambodian communist movement are particularly good. The latter being the first really detailed account I've read of how an initially small and marginalized clique around Pol Pot were able to exploit the internal rifts of Cambodian communism to gain ascendancy despite holding many attitudes highly at odds with orthodox communist politics, and their rivals within the movement.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews