Cambodia

• Cambodia's pre-colonial history includes the Funan Indianized society and the Khmers, direct ancestors of Cambodia's modern population

  
• At the height of its power in the thirteenth century, the Angkor Empire stretched from the southern parts of Laos across the Mekong Delta to southern parts of Thailand
• The golden age of Khmer civilization was when the kingdom of Kambuja, which gave Cambodia its name, ruled large territories from its capital in the region of Angkor in western Cambodia
• European accounts of Cambodia in the late 16th century and first half of the 17th century suggest a cosmopolitan trading life involving Chinese, Japanese, Malay, Arab, and other traders
• Under French rule, debt slavery and feudal landholding patterns were abolished, but infrastructure and industry in Cambodia remained rudimentary
• During World War 2, the French reached an agreement with the Japanese to continue administering Indochina in exchange for the free movement of Japanese forces
• In 1946, Cambodia was granted self-rule within the newly created French Union
• The Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of Pol Pot, had a 4-year reign of terror in Cambodia, during which approximately one-fifth of the population was murdered or died as a result of misrule
• Vietnamese troops invaded eastern Cambodia and ousted the Khmer Rouge in December 1978
• The Paris Accords in 1991 mandated the establishment of an interim government, the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)
• In 1997, a coup d'etat by Hun Sen led to an authoritarian regime that persists until today
• Four pillars of Hun Sen's leadership include CPP's firm control over the electoral process, institutionalized nepotism, repression against opposition politicians, journalists, and civil society activists, and the regime's efforts to legitimate its claim to power against its citizens and the international community
• Following amendments in 2004 and 2006, a newly constituted National Assembly in Cambodia can amend the constitution by majority, and the prime minister is elected by a majority of the members of parliament
• In pre colonial government, (1)king’s power was in theory absolute and (2) Everything in the kingdom was his property and the word for govern also meant to eat or consume.