The relational archive of the Khmer Republic (1970–1975): re-visiting the ‘coup’ and the ‘civil war’ in Cambodia through written sources

Benzaquen-Gautier, Stéphanie

Abstract

If there is a period in Cambodia’s history that has been overlooked and disparaged, it is certainly the republican one (1970–1975). The Khmer Republic is often viewed as a corrupt, incompetent regime–an interregnum doomed to failure. This article revisits this narrative through currently available written sources. It argues that a cultural approach to the existing records helps us understand how such a negative view, still prevailing today, was discursively constructed. The analysis of the interpretations of a range of protagonists, observers and academics contributes to a critical historiography that might challenge assumptions and clichés about the Republic. This implies a re-working of the ‘republican archive’, a multiform and scattered body that presents a structural imbalance due to the discrepancy between the limited sources coming from the Republic itself and the significant amount of US records. The article reassembles these archival materials. It proposes a different reading of these documents in terms of discipline. It suggests that this might be the first step towards reassessing the Republic and the two dominant themes of that period: the overthrow of head of state, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, in 1970 (which marked the end of the monarchy) and the civil war.

Citation

Benzaquen-Gautier, S. (2021). The relational archive of the Khmer Republic (1970–1975): re-visiting the ‘coup’ and the ‘civil war’ in Cambodia through written sources. South East Asia Research, 29(4), 450-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/0967828x.2021.1989987

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 16, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Nov 5, 2021
• Publication Date: Nov 5, 2021
• Deposit Date: Nov 12, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 12, 2021
• Journal: South East Asia Research
• Print ISSN: 0967-828X
• Electronic ISSN: 2043-6874
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 450-468
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0967828x.2021.1989987
• Keywords: Political Science and International Relations; Development; Geography, Planning and Development
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/6681491
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0967828X.2021.1989987