ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the current Cambodian political elite as a fragmented social field with competing groups fighting for hegemonic control over the state apparatus. It traces the creation of these competing elite groups, through a historical account of significant transformations within the social fabric of the political field. It argues that transformations such as colonialism, anti-colonial resistance, civil war and genocide, foreign occupation, and capitalism led to the emergence of new elite groups with differing social ontologies; that is, what society is, how it is structured, and the characteristics of that particular group and its correspondence with hierarchical structures, or sociocultures. There are elite groups with roots in the sociocultures of colonialism, of communism, of war culture, and – most recently – of capitalist class transformation. Although this is similar in many ways to elite competition in other countries with similar histories, the history of elite transformation in Cambodia is unique due to the ruptures caused by Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979) as well as the Vietnamese occupation (1979–1989). Finally, the chapter provides examples from interviews with members of four elite groups in order to visualize their pathway into the elite and aspects of their conflicting social ontologies.
