A Study On Cambodian Political Culture

Cambodia has implemented different political systems in different periods.But whatever historical stage its political development remains in and whatever changes have taken place in its social nature,the distribution of national political power has always been affected by royal power and religious power.Under different external environment,the two powers vary in the forms and degrees of influences,and their interactions.The role that royal power and religious power play in the distribution of political power not only interpretes the rule of power distribution itself,but also reflects the social thoughts,values,concepts and behavior patterns of Cambodia in different historical periods.In this thesis,we will see the Cambodian Political Culture through this particular perspective.The ancient power system of Cambodia was built on Hinduism and Buddhism.Political elites constructed political identity by drawing experiences from the theoretical norms and religious hierarchy of foreign religions.Hinduism provided legitimacy support to the kingship.Steles and temples circled the territory of the ancient kingdom and established a preliminary centralized system.Meanwhile,Buddhism,which coexisted with Hinduism since ancient times,mainly consoled people's mind and helped to restore national strength.When Theravada Buddhism became dominant,the Dasavidha-rajadhamma,or the ten precepts of kingship became the strict standards to measure the legitimacy of the king.Anyhow,the belief system of ancient Cambodia was inclusive,and both foreign and indigenous beliefs were part of the national identity.The ancient Cambodian political culture also showed the characteristics that the religious power was subordinate to the royal power,but at the same time,they both sheltered each other and shared political power.However,behavior countercurrent of deviating from religious ethics existed in the political order built around religious belief.Psychological tendency of departure from kinship,ethics and religious doctrines emerged during contention for the throne.The French colonial invasion and social reforms in Cambodia broke the traditional power distribution relationship.The land privatization reform deprived the king of the ownership and the disposal right of land.The abolition of slavery broke the relationship of personal attachment and restriction of personal freedom,and freed a large number of rural labors.The colonial government also tried to popularize French education and tried to foster Francophile Kings.These measures greatly reduced the influence of the king and the religion.As the traditional social order was broken down,Cambodian nationalism and anti-colonialism began to sprout.The Buddhist institutions established by the colonial government set the stage for the awakening of nationalism,and Buddhist schools became greenhouses of nationalism,which incorporate Cambodian nationalism,in its initial phase,with Buddhism.As nationalist movement was on the rise,France made concessions on Cambodian independence.After World War ?,Cambodia promulgated its first Constitution.However,on the application of democracy,form overwhelmed its substance.During the Cold War,Cambodia experienced fierce collision between traditional political culture and values of the West.Political elites drew lessons from western ideas and systems,but preferred to make political regulations based on traditions and actual situation.After independence,Sihanouk continued the idea of Buddhist nationalism,put forward the Two-wheel Theory that promoted social development,and futher came up with the thought of Buddhist Socialism,hoping that Cambodia could be governed as a harmonious society through the promotion of Buddhist.Based on the theory of Buddhist Socialism,Sihanouk founded a very inclusive political organization,Sangkum reastr niyum,and adhered to the concept of neutral diplomacy in dealing with international issues.However,under both internal and external pressure,Sihanouk's domestic and foreign policies imbalanced in the end.The overthrowing of Sihanouk's government by Lon Nol led to the situation with two Cambodian governments at home and abroad.The Cambodian monarchy has been banned since the implementation of Republicanism by the Lon Nol Regime.The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia in 1993 restored the constitutional monarchy and set up party politics as the core of the state's political life.The king used the power of appointment and the prerogative of mercy to game with major political parties.King Sihamoni cooperated with the ruling Cambodian People's Party(CPP)rather than contained the latter.The king's embrace of the CPP's power helped it become the Cambodian super party.CPP had established a set of national long-term development strategy centered on economic construction in Cambodia,and set up equal,independent and neutral diplomatic image of the Cambodian government on the world stage.Meanwhile,the new Constitution re-established Buddhism as the state religion and gave monks the right to vote and the right to be elected.Monks could express their political leanings through participation in political and public activities.The evolution of Cambodian political culture is driven by both internal and external factors.The internal factors arise from traditional connotations such as local values,the patron-client relations,and the ability of political culture formed thereby to shape itself,enculturate or reject foreign culture.The external factors come from the influence of foreign religions,powers,political ideologies and political systems.The two factors,coexisting and interweaving,pushed forward the evolution of Cambodian political culture through the interactions between royal power and religious power,and their influences on the distribution of political power.However,no matter how external factors affect political culture,internal factors are always the decisive ones.The royal power and religious power are core to Cambodia's political culture,and their effects on the distribution of political power would determine the way Cambodian political culture present.Cambodia has never shaken off the influence of the royal power and the religious power on the distribution of political power.Nowadays,as the constitutional system and political party system enjoy popular support,Cambodia has formed a pattern in which kingship,Buddhism and political parties exert influence simultaneously.This pattern would continue to play a key role in the distribution of political power in Cambodia for a long time.