The Handbook of Contemporary Cambodia.

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Author: Stepkova, Veronika
• Date: 01 December 2016

The Handbook of Contemporary Cambodia. Edited by Katherine Brickell and Simon Springer. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2016. Hardcover: 496pp.

No other book better depicts the country's "here and now" than The Handbook of Contemporary Cambodia. By avoiding the usual--and often simplistic--Western-centric narratives of the country's development challenges, this volume presents a first-rate account of current Cambodian society. Although both editors come from a geography background, their book provides a unique and well-rounded insight into the country's current situation, primarily because of their engagement with international and local academics, development professionals and activists.

As is made clear in the introduction, the traumatic Khmer Rouge era provides only a partial explanation of the forces that have shaped contemporary Cambodia. The country has been haunted by its submissive position as a recipient of development aid, problematic relations with its nearest neighbours Vietnam and Thailand, and its dependence on China since the coup of 1997. The 2013 elections raised hopes that Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP)'s "rule by law" would be overturned. But after the CPP's narrow-margin victory ensured that the old elites continued to hold power, the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) refused to attend parliament, resulting in months of...