ABSTRACT
This chapter examines political transition in Cambodia between the end of the secession in 1993 and the violent changes of July 1997. It identifies two linked themes which characterise transitional politics and which have some of their origins in the Paris Peace Agreement (PPA). The chapter argues, contributed to the destabilisation of a fragile political order in Cambodia. The cohesion of the coalition in Phnom Penh was further undermined by other thematic challenges to its unity and its legitimacy from various sources. The success of various organisations in creating such changes at the grass roots level is clearly distinct from the limitations that have become self-evident when pressure to bear for change is brought on the ruling elites. The issue of power sharing was aggravated by few events that at the time appeared to have no long term effect on the transition to democratic government in Cambodia.
