The Social Republican Party ( km, គណបក្សសាធារណរដ្ឋសង្គម; french: Parti républicain social, PRS) was a

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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 ...

, founded by the then-

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

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 ...

in 10 June 1972 to contest the National Assembly elections of the

Khmer Republic The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...

held on September 3, 1972.

History

The Party was formed around Lon Nol's existing Socio-Republican Association, and was heavily influenced by his brother

Lon Non Lon Non ( km, លន់ ណុន; 18 April 1930(?) – 17 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician and soldier who rose to his greatest prominence during the Khmer Republic (1970–1975). Non was the younger brother of Prime Minister (and lat ...

and by the officers of the Khmer Republic's armed forces. It adopted the symbol of

Angkor Wat Angkor Wat (; km, អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring . Originally constructed as a Hinduism, Hindu temple dedicated ...

, previously used by Prince

Norodom Norindeth Prince Norodom Norindeth ( km, នរោត្តម នរិន្ទដេត, 1906?–1975) was a member of the royal family of Cambodia. Active as a politician and diplomat during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, he started a notable political p ...

's Liberal Party from 1946–56. Its platform was populist, nationalist and anticommunist, Lon Nol being determined to oppose

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 ...

ese and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

influence in the region in the context 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 ...

: its three principal values were declared to be "republicanism, social responsibility and nationalism". The party's main function, however, was to support and legitimise Lon Nol's leadership of the country; he was later to develop a rather ramshackle

chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...

and semi-mystical ideology called "Neo-Khmerism" to back his political agenda.Kiernan, B. ''How Pol Pot came to power'', Yale UP, 2004, p.348 The party had, early on, developed two distinct factions. One, known as ''Dangrek'', was led by veteran rightist radical, and (since 18 March) Prime Minister,

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 ...

and the left-wing academic

Hang Thun Hak Hang Thun Hak ( km, ហង្ស ធុនហាក់; 2 August 1926 – 18 April 1975) was a Cambodian radical politician, academic and playwright. Life Hak studied theatre in Paris, where he became associated with the group of radical student ...

.Corfield, J. ''The History of Cambodia'', ABC-CLIO, 2009, p.78 The ''Dangrek'' faction, named after the

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in which Thanh's

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 ...

guerrillas had been based, attracted those figures who had long been part of the republican and radical opposition to 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 ...

in the period before the Republic's establishment. The other faction, known as ''Dangkor'', centred on Lon Non and the army. Tension between these two factions would later prove a serious obstacle to stable government.

1972 elections

The two main opposition parties, the

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 ...

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 the Republican Party of

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 ...

, did not take part in the National Assembly Elections, saying that there were some dubious points in the election law. The Social Republican Party fielded 126 candidates and won all of the seats.Khmer Republic 1972
Inter-Parliamentary Union The only opposition were 10 candidates fielded by the ''

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 ...

'' group, a resurrected socialist party widely believed to have been organised by Lon Non as a token opposition. In the elections to the Senate, the upper house of legislature, the 'token' opposition to the PSR was provided by a few candidates of the

Sangkum 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 Langu ...

, the former party of Sihanouk, who had been deposed as Head of State by Lon Nol in 1970.Corfield, J. ''Khmers stand up!: a history of the Cambodian government 1970-1975'', p.160 The Sangkum had been formally dissolved in 1971, but as with the ''Pracheachon'' was resurrected by Lon Non to provide the appearance of a multiparty election.

Political infighting

Thanh's brief period as Prime Minister ended on 15 October 1972, shortly after an assassination attempt widely believed to have been organised by Lon Non. The PSR's Secretary-General, Hang Thun Hak, was made Prime Minister in his place, but was to be forced out in early 1973 after a period of increasingly poor outcomes for the Republic in the

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 ...

. After a period in which In Tam served in the post, PSR member

Long Boret Long Boret ( km, ឡុង បូរ៉េត, ; 3 January 1933 – 17 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician who served as the last prime minister of the Khmer Republic from 26 December 1973, to 17 April 1975. Highly regarded for his honesty, ...

was made Prime Minister in late 1973. Lon Non attempted to strengthen his influence on the PSR, but was forced into exile in September 1973. He returned in 1974 and as late as March 1975 was still attempting to obtain the party's Secretary-Generalship, despite the Republic by this time holding little more than the city of

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 ...

. In April 1975, the Socio-Republican Party, along with the rest of the Khmer Republic regime, fell to 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. ...

.Situation in Indochina Peninsula
/ref>

Election results

Presidential election

National Assembly

Senate

References

{{Authority control 1972 establishments in Cambodia 1975 disestablishments in Cambodia Anti-Vietnamese sentiment Anti-communist parties Buddhist political parties Defunct political parties in Cambodia Conservative parties in Cambodia National conservative parties Nationalist parties in Cambodia Political parties disestablished in 1975 Political parties established in 1972 Republican parties in Cambodia Republicanism in Cambodia Khmer Republic