ABSTRACT

There are two stories to be told about the development of conflict resolution processes in Cambodia. One is the success story of the development of such processes at the grassroots level of the village and the commune in the countryside, where Cambodians are reported to have implemented grassroots level conflict resolution processes that they regard as highly satisfactory (Ninh and Henke 2005: 96). The other story is much less optimistic and emphasizes the ongoing and widespread violence that continues to permeate many aspects of life in Cambodia today (Ngarm 2004). This chapter explores these stories and seeks theoretical understandings to explain why two such stories exist side by side.