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Essay on Peace Building In Cambodia
Overview
Three years after the conclusion of the United Nations peace operation, Cambodia is on an edge between hope for a deepening peace and fear of deepening violence. Relatively little progress in building peace has been achieved since the Paris Peace Agreement and the UNTAC peace process three years ago. Today, the urban economy is booming, but the continuing counter-insurgency war against the Khmer Rouge, the uncertain pace of the revival of the rural economy, and a dangerous polarization within the government plague the fragile peace.
The latter two are the more serious. Informed observers now suggest that the chances of deterioration -- an escalation of violence and a collapse of the coalition government into civil war and authoritarianism -- are about as high as the chances of a continued deepening of the rule of law and democratization. The condition of Cambodia today confirms that the peace was only begun when the parties signed the Paris Peace Agreement in October 1991 and when UNTAC arrived in March 1992 to help implement it.
The real tests are coming now in the peacebuilding process (Shenon).
This policy briefing explores the prospects of building on peace in Cambodia in five sections: first, a concept of peacebuilding that highlights its dynamic character; second, an assessment of conditions today, including trends that favor peace; third, an assessment of trends that discourage peace; fourth, an analysis of the deeper, longer-term roots of war in Cambodian society and the successes and failures of UNTAC in addressing them; and fifth, an outline of what Cambodia and the international community can do to solidify existing progress and deepen peace (Ledgerwood).
Introduction
The 1992-1993 peace operation in Cambodia that culminated in the June 1993 elections was widely hailed as one of the UN's "peacekeeping" successes. What Cambodia needs now is "peacebuilding" -- the institutional, social, and economic reforms that can serve to defuse or peacefully resolve ....
