ABSTRACT
Cambodia has never known democracy. During the classical Khmer (Cambodian) empire, which reached its zenith in the twelfth century, the Khmers were ruled by autocrats who styled themselves devarajas, or god-kings. Cambodia reached a level of artistic and technological excellence unrivaled at that time anywhere in Southeast Asia. In the nineteenth century, France declared a protectorate over Cambodia. Minefields were especially dense along the Thai border to prevent Cambodian citizens from fleeing. The outlook for democratic government in Cambodia must be considered bleak, due to the Cambodians' dearth of experience with open politics, free elections, and civil liberties. Much of Cambodia's international behavior can be explained by its people's deep-seated fear of racial extinction. A thousand years ago the Khmer empire was the most powerful state in Southeast Asia, able to mobilize its people to construct stone temple-cities without equal. Modern Cambodia is one of the world's weakest states, and its fate is in the hands of others.
