The Politics of Nationalism in Cambodia's Preah Vihear Conflict with Thailand: The State, the City and the Border

Abstract

This thesis examines the politics of nationalism in Cambodia during the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand over the Preah Vihear Temple. Existing studies of the dispute between these two countries over Preah Vihear tend to adopt a top down approach. Many of them focus on the historical and legal dimensions of the contested claims and on Thailand’s role in the conflict. However, none of them adequately addresses or explains the conflict from the Cambodian side, especially the politics of nationalism in relation to the border temple conflict. Therefore, this thesis examines the Preah Vihear conflict by exploring what it reveals about the nuanced uses of the politics of nationalism in Cambodia and the meanings of Preah Vihear to diverse Cambodian social actors. The thesis demonstrates that Cambodians have had strong political stakes in the Preah Vihear dispute and the stakes are diverse. Investments in the temple in Cambodia as a nationalist rallying point have been multi-dimensional and reflect a range of interests. The thesis argues that to understand the dispute from the Cambodian side, we need to understand the different bases for nationalist investment in the conflict. Therefore, it proposes not one but four key explanatory approaches: the politics of postcolonial nation-building, political legitimation, the urban politics of empowerment, and the politics of pragmatism in the periphery. Examination of these four approaches reveals that nationalism can have complex uses and a diverse range of meanings. It serves as a political resource for different stakeholders and a productive way for them to secure their varied political objectives when alternative means are constrained or lacking. The study adopts a qualitative methodology. In addition to relying on primary and secondary documents, I made observations, recorded informal conversations, and conducted in-depth and focus group interviews with a wide range of individuals and groups. The fieldwork was conducted in Phnom Penh and Preah Vihear province in two segments, from March to October 2012 and from December 2013 to January 2014.