ABSTRACT
Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia and was once the kingdom of Angkor (8021431). The country was inhabited for about 2000 years by the Khmer, whose culture was strongly influenced by Indian civilization and Hinduism (see Chan, 2004, for detailed Cambodian history). Cambodia was raided by Thailand and Vietnam from the fourteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries. The French colonized Cambodia in 1863. Not considered to be a strategic colony like Vietnam, the French did little to develop infrastructure, such as roads, hospitals, schools, or industries, in the mostly agrarian society. In fact, the Vietnamese were assigned by the French to be administrators in Cambodia (Kim, 2002). Cambodia was granted independence in 1953 and was governed by King Sihanouk and his political party members until 1970.
