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The Sangkum Reastr Niyum ( km, សង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយម, , ;Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Bureau of Special Research in Modern Languages. The Catholic University of America Press. Washington, D.C. french: Communauté socialiste populaire), usually translated as Popular People's Socialist Community and commonly known simply as the Sangkum ( km, សង្គម, ; ), was a political organisation set up on 22 March 1955 by Prince
Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...
of
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
.Dommen, A. ''The Indochinese experience of the French and the Americans'', Indiana University Press, 2001, p.318 Though it described itself as a 'movement' rather than a political party (members had to abjure membership of any political group), the Sangkum retained control of the government of Cambodia throughout the first administration of Sihanouk, from 1955 to
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
. Central to the Sangkum ideology were
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
,
conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
, preserving the
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
, and a conservative interpretation of
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.


Formation

The Sangkum came into existence after Sihanouk stepped down from the throne in 1955 in favour of his father
Norodom Suramarit Norodom Suramarit ( km, នរោត្តម សុរាម្រិត, ; 6 March 1896 – 3 April 1960) was King of Cambodia from 3 March 1955 until his death in 1960. He was the father of King Norodom Sihanouk and the grandfather of C ...
, with the intention of concentrating on politics. The movement was based on four small monarchist, rightist parties, including the
Victorious Northeast ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around asp ...
party of
Dap Chhuon Dap Chhuon ( km, ដាប ឈួន), also known as Chuan Khemphet ( th, ชวน เข็มเพชร), Khem Phet, Chhuon Mochulpech ( km, ឈួន ម្ជុលពេជជ្រ) or Chhuon Mchoul Pich ( km, ឈួន ម្ជុល ...
and the
Khmer Renovation Khmer Renovation Party ( km, គណបក្សកំណែទម្រង់ខ្មែរ; ), also translated as Khmer Renewal Party, was an anti-communist, nationalist and royalist political party founded in Cambodia in September 1947. In 1955 ...
party of
Lon Nol Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia The prime minister of Cambodia ( km, នាយករដ្ឋមន្ ...
.Kiernan, B. ''How Pol Pot came to power'', Yale University Press, 2004, p.158 Sihanouk broadened this political base into the Sangkum in order to fight the 1955 parliamentary election, the first after independence. Despite its apolitical image, the Sangkum effectively functioned as the pro-Sihanouk party. It won an overwhelming victory in the elections: there were subsequently allegations of massive electoral fraud, and of intimidation directed against both the opposing
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
and the socialist '' Krom Pracheachon''.


Policies and character

Despite its name, Sangkum's "Royal-Buddhist socialism" or "Khmer socialism" had little to do with
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
, neither with the
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
variant nor with Anglo-Saxon "
welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
socialism". Lacking a consistent political philosophy, it combined pseudo-socialist slogans with conservative social values,
monarchism Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
,
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
and
Theravada Buddhist ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
teachings. It was stated that administrators would be "''socialists'' for the well-being of the people and ''royalists'' for the prestige and cohesion of the nation". At the same time, the Sangkum was designed to democraticise the country and to exert political control. Rather than subscribing to a certain ideology, Sangkum was defined by its leader Prince Sihanouk and his personal popularity. In power, the Sangkum functioned according to principles of '
Buddhist socialism Buddhist socialism is a political ideology which advocates socialism based on the principles of Buddhism. Both Buddhism and socialism seek to provide an end to suffering by analyzing its conditions and removing its main causes through praxis. ...
', a rather vague construct that while claiming to seek progressive goals and the end of social injustice, was based around the conservative religious and social traditions of Cambodia. Rather than doing away with private property, 'Buddhist socialism' encouraged the wealthy to give to the poor in order to gain merit.Ayres, D. M ''Anatomy of a crisis: education, development, and the state in Cambodia'', 2000, pp.34-35 Public figures were also instructed to be fully accountable to the populace, transparent in their dealings, and were encouraged to take regular breaks to perform ordinary agricultural-related work (Sihanouk often had himself photographed performing such labour during his visits to development projects). In practice, economic management developed as a form of "crony socialism" analogous to
crony capitalism Crony capitalism, sometimes called cronyism, is an economic system in which businesses thrive not as a result of free enterprise, but rather as a return on money amassed through collusion between a business class and the political class. This is ...
: state enterprises were set up and then managed by members of the Sangkum elite, often for their own personal gain.Ross, R.
Library of Congress Country Studies: Cambodia - Domestic Developments
', 1987
State organisations set up under the Sangkum included OROC, the ''Office royale de coopération'', which handled trade, import and export. In 1957, Sihanouk set up a youth wing of the Sangkum, known as the "Royal Khmer Socialist Youth" (French: ''Jeunesse socialiste royale khmère'', JSRK).


Domestic politics under the Sangkum

Sihanouk's method of alternately criticising his opponents in various public forums, and then of offering them posts within the Sangkum in a demand that they positively contribute to Cambodian society, had the dual effect of stifling dissent and of integrating much of the opposition into his regime. Sihanouk attempted to construct an image of Cambodia as a "Southeast Asian
Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...
", an oasis of peace and social order amidst the conflict affecting the rest of the region.Ayres, p.31 Internationally, an official policy of neutrality was adopted. During the period of Sihanouk's rule, the Sangkum managed to absorb many of the rightist and centrist elements of Cambodian politics, as well as pro-Sihanouk elements of the left and moderate communists: only the more hardline secret elements of the
Communist Party of Kampuchea The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK),, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ; french: Parti communiste du Kampuchea also known as the Khmer Communist Party,Hu Nim Hu Nim (, 25 July 1930 or 1932 – 6 July 1977), alias "Phoas" (), was a Cambodian Communist intellectual and politician who held a number of ministerial posts. His long political career included spells with the Sangkum regime of Prince Norodom ...
and
Khieu Samphan Khieu Samphan ( km, ខៀវ សំផន; born 28 July 1931) is a Cambodian former communist politician and economist who was the chairman of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as ...
, accepted posts with the Sangkum in an attempt to work with the system.Kiernan, p.197 In the early 1960s, Samphan – later to become the head of state under the
Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
– was called on by Sihanouk to implement a series of economic reforms based on plans outlined in Samphan's PhD thesis.These reforms were an initial success, until massively increased cross-border smuggling of rice during the
Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam an ...
severely damaged the Cambodian government's revenues. See Kiernan, ''How Pol Pot came to power''
While the Democratic Party, the representatives of moderate, progressive
republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politics in the Cambodian political milieu, were effectively incorporated into the Sangkum in 1957,Dommen, pp.359-360 many republican moderates simply avoided politics altogether until the period immediately after 1970. The only notable element to remain outside the Sangkum, other than the hardline communists, was the right-wing, anti-monarchist nationalist
Son Ngoc Thanh Sơn Ngọc Thành ( km, សឺង ង៉ុកថាញ់; 7 December 1908 – 8 August 1977) was a Cambodian nationalist and republican politician, with a long history as a rebel and (for brief periods) a government minister. Early li ...
, whose
Khmer Serei The Khmer Serei ( km, ខ្មែរសេរី ; "Free Khmer") were an anti-communist and anti-monarchist guerrilla force founded by Cambodian nationalist Son Ngoc Thanh. In 1959, he published 'The Manifesto of the Khmer Serei' claiming that ...
irregulars maintained armed resistance with funding from
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. Sihanouk was to label his opponents on the right as the "Khmer Bleu" to distinguish them from his opponents on the left.
Library of Congress Country Studies: Cambodia - Major Political and Military Organizations
'
However, it seems that during the late 1950s and early 1960s there was relatively little violent repression of opposition to the Sangkum (although there was repeated political intimidation of the leftist ''
Pracheachon The Krom Pracheachon ( km, ក្រុមប្រជាជន ; "People's Group"), often referred to simply as Pracheachon, was a Cambodian political party that contested in parliamentary elections in 1955, 1958 and 1972. For much of its exi ...
'' party, who were accused of being pro-Vietnam) and the country as a whole experienced a period of comparative stability.Kiernan, pp. 175-176. The official historiography of the
Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
, by contrast, depicts even this period as characterised by violent struggle against a repressive regime.
The one exception was again the Khmer Serei, who were dealt with harshly:
Preap In Preap In ( km, ព្រាប អ៊ិន, 1938–1964) was a Cambodian political dissident of the 1950s–1960s. A high-level cadre of the Khmer Serei, a rightist militia formed to oppose the regime of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, In is re ...
, a Khmer Serei activist who attempted to negotiate with Sihanouk in 1963, was arrested and his subsequent execution shown in cinemas across the country. The same treatment was given to another group of alleged Khmer Serei leaders, Chau Bory (previously implicated in the
Bangkok Plot The Bangkok Plot, also known as the Dap Chhuon Plot, was a late 1950s international conspiracy in Cambodia. The goal being to topple Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, it was allegedly initiated by the right-wing politicians Sam Sary and Son Ngo ...
), Chau Mathura, and Sau Ngoy, in 1967.


End of the Sangkum era

Sihanouk was made Head of State for life in 1963. From the mid-1960s, however, fractures began to appear in the regime. The 1966 elections resulted in an overwhelming victory for rightist candidates; Sihanouk responded by creating a left-wing "Counter-Government", including Hu Nim and Khieu Samphan, to act as a check, and prevent the regime splitting completely. Increasingly violent repression of the left, led by Lon Nol and the military in Sihanouk's name, came to alienate many of the remaining communists, especially the more moderate pro-Sihanouk faction who owed a strong allegiance to
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and the
Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
. Sihanouk's public criticism of the 'Khmer Viet Minh' had the damaging effect of increasing the power of the hardline, anti-Vietnamese, but also anti-monarchical members of the CPK, led by
Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
.Kiernan, p.227 Escalation of the
Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam an ...
also had a destabilising effect on both the political situation and the Cambodian economy. The Sangkum found itself locked in an increasingly bitter struggle with what it represented as 'foreign' elements of the Viet Minh and
Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The gro ...
within Cambodia: speaking on
Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
radio after a group of Vietnamese communists was captured, Sihanouk stated that "I had them roasted ..we had to feed them to the vultures".Kiernan, p.275 The shockingly brutal tactics adopted by the Sangkum regime against not only leftists from outside the Cambodian borders, but also increasingly against the Khmer left, especially after a possibly CPK-backed
rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
in rural Battambang Province beginning in early 1967, presaged the similarly brutal conduct of the subsequent
Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khme ...
.Kiernan, pp.250-253 Reports stated that captured communists were summarily killed, in some cases being disembowelled or thrown from cliffs. The three remaining public representatives of the communists –
Khieu Samphan Khieu Samphan ( km, ខៀវ សំផន; born 28 July 1931) is a Cambodian former communist politician and economist who was the chairman of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as ...
,
Hou Yuon Hou Yuon ( km, ហ៊ូ យន់, 1930 – August 1975 (or later)) was a veteran of the communist movement in Cambodia. A member of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, he served in several ministerial posts dur ...
and
Hu Nim Hu Nim (, 25 July 1930 or 1932 – 6 July 1977), alias "Phoas" (), was a Cambodian Communist intellectual and politician who held a number of ministerial posts. His long political career included spells with the Sangkum regime of Prince Norodom ...
– fled to the forests in 1967-8, though at the time it was widely rumoured that they had been murdered by the Sangkum's police (after their reappearance in the 1970s, they were referred to in the press as the "Three Ghosts").


Deposition of Sihanouk

Amid increasing political instability, Sihanouk was eventually deposed in 1970 by Lon Nol and the rightists led by
In Tam In Tam ( km, អ៊ិន តាំ ; 22 September 19161 April 2006) was a Cambodian politician who once served as the prime minister of the Khmer Republic. He served in that position from 6 May 1973 to 9 December 1973, and had a long career in ...
and Prince
Sisowath Sirik Matak Sisowath Sirik Matak ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ សិរិមតៈ; 22 January 191421 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician and member of the Cambodian royal family, under the House of Sisowath. Sirik Matak was mainly notable for h ...
. Subsequent to the coup, the Khmer Rumdo ("Liberation Khmer") guerrillas, armed and trained by
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
, continued armed resistance on Sihanouk's behalf against his own former colleagues. Sihanouk's tactic of making common cause with the Khmer communist insurgents was to attract a huge number of recruits to their side. The Sangkum was formally dissolved on 18 February 1971. Elements of Sihanouk's Sangkum regime went on to form the royalist party
FUNCINPEC The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...
and its military wing, the Sihanouk National Army or ANS, which controlled large parts of rural Cambodia during the 1980s.


Evaluation

Opinion remains sharply divided on the Sangkum movement, as on Sihanouk himself. Many commentators, particularly those on the left or those personally opposed to Sihanouk, have described the Sangkum as essentially a conservative movement which sought to maintain the power and influence of the Cambodian ''status quo'' through authoritarianism.Chomsky, N. and Herman, E. ''After the cataclysm'',
South End Press South End Press was a non-profit book publisher run on a model of participatory economics. It was founded in 1977 by Michael Albert, Lydia Sargent, Juliet Schor, among others, in Boston's South End. It published books written by political activi ...
, 1979, pp.216-217
Others, however, have noted that it vastly increased the participation of ordinary Cambodians in democracy, and describe it as a pragmatic movement which genuinely sought to bring community development to Cambodia through "expert guidance and gentle persuasion".Kershaw, R. ''Monarchy in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition'', Routledge, 2001, pp.56-57 There is a certain degree of nostalgia amongst older Cambodians for the Sangkum era, especially given the relative stability of the years 1955–1965 in comparison to later periods. After the 1991 political settlement and Sihanouk's 1993 restoration as king, a number of Cambodian political parties used the term "Sangkum" in their name in order to associate themselves with this period.


General election results


References

{{Authority control 1955 establishments in Cambodia 1970 disestablishments in Cambodia Buddhist political parties Defunct political parties in Cambodia Conservative parties in Cambodia Monarchist parties in Cambodia Nationalist parties in Cambodia Political parties disestablished in 1970 Political parties established in 1955 Social democratic parties in Cambodia Socialist parties in Cambodia Parties of one-party systems