Leiden University Student Repository

Veldhoven, Ella (2023)

Narrating Human Rights or Politicising memories in Cambodia

Bachelor thesis | Security Studies (BSc)

This thesis looks into the memory politics applied by the government of Cambodia during the post Khmer Rouge (KR) regime period from 1979-2015. I will analyse this period through a Case Study design and therein by applying the article by Wustenberg & Sierp, on the different levels of agents that use or influence memory politics surrounding the two internationally known memorial sites: Tuol Sleng and Choeung Genocidal center. To do so, I will first provide historical background information on the rise to power of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime, followed by a short recount of the historical events after the KR regime and the rise to power of the Hun Sen government. Throughout this thesis I will show that the question posed by Wustenberg & Sierp, whether a government has a monopoly on memory politics, can be answered positively in the case of post KR Cambodia. Furthermore, I will argue that the Holocaust narrative seemingly fits in the case of Cambodia, but when taking a closer...Show moreThis thesis looks into the memory politics applied by the government of Cambodia during the post Khmer Rouge (KR) regime period from 1979-2015. I will analyse this period through a Case Study design and therein by applying the article by Wustenberg & Sierp, on the different levels of agents that use or influence memory politics surrounding the two internationally known memorial sites: Tuol Sleng and Choeung Genocidal center. To do so, I will first provide historical background information on the rise to power of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime, followed by a short recount of the historical events after the KR regime and the rise to power of the Hun Sen government. Throughout this thesis I will show that the question posed by Wustenberg & Sierp, whether a government has a monopoly on memory politics, can be answered positively in the case of post KR Cambodia. Furthermore, I will argue that the Holocaust narrative seemingly fits in the case of Cambodia, but when taking a closer look at the two memorial sites it can be seen that this is not the case, as the memorials are more about attracting international visitors and showing them a partial truth of the KR regime.Show less

Cambodia

Post genocide

Memory politics

Tuol Sleng

Choeung Ek

Author

Veldhoven, Ella

Faculty

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Supervisors

Hoye, J.M.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en