Longtime Thai Prime Minister Hun Sen’s anticipated transfer of power to his brother went practically exactly as planned after a century of laying the social groundwork there. & nbsp,
Hun Sen & nbsp was barred from its platforms in the run-up to the July 2023 election, eliminating a crucial outlet for government propaganda, and not even Meta was able to stop the inevitable outcome.
On July 23, 2023, Hun Manet, the eldest child and the first elected member of the National Assembly, took office. The actual shock came when Hun Sen announced a clear timeline for his departure after 38 years in office despite numerous declarations that he wanted to hold onto his position well into the 2030s.
As a result, Manet will move from being the prime minister-designate, which he was given by the Cambodian People’s Party( CPP ) in December 2021, to the position on August 22, 2023. Hun Sen may take office as Senate President and continue to lead the CPP, maintaining a sizable amount of influence.
The majority of spectators have offered justifications for this orderly transfer of power that highlight Cambodia’s lack of democracy and the rule of law. Press releases denouncing the July votes, which have been a chorus heard since the 1990s, were quickly released by some institutions. & nbsp,
The elections” were neither free nor fair ,” according to Washington & nbsp, and they also pointed to the” restrictive political environment” and the lack of” multi-party democracy and respect for human rights.”
While some governments, including Australia’s, and some sent gratitude, & nbsp, like Beijing, most reiterated their unhappiness with the political process, while others remained strangely silent. Manet is in charge from this vantage point because he had no other option. An illegal poll results in an illegal prime minister.
Cambodian scientists and despotism have offered more enlightening responses. The” hereditary succession ,” according to Neil Loughin, resulted from a two-fold strategy that was almost flawlessly carried out. & nbsp,
To & nbsp, a methodical dismantling of opposition parties and affiliated institutions outside the CPP, was the first component of the strategy. Several places for protest against Manet’s succession were left after all opposition was put down.
The following tactic was to properly manage any possible CPP opposition to Manet. The Hun family has maintained balance by dividing the nation’s treasures among the upcoming era of CPP leaders, allowing influential group members like Minister of National Defense Tea Banh and Interior Sar Kheng to pass on their own opportunities to their kids.
Another explanation for why the sequence was met with little resistance is found in the CPP’s strategies for & nbsp, education, and youth engagement. This explanation is frequently unrecognized by the media. & nbsp: After the 2013 election, when opposition parties unexpectedly gained support from younger voters, it was important to learn how to appeal to young people. & nbsp,
In order to address the younger generation of voters, who spend more time looking at their phones than watching television, Hun Sen & nbsp embraced Facebook. Because of this, Meta’s banning in 2023 was significant.
However, the children plan went beyond Facebook. Since June 2020, Manet has served as the leader of a CPP Youth Working Group that has started promoting both inside and outside of Cambodia the traditions and interests of the country. & nbsp,
Numerous college scholarships were given by Hun Sen-affiliated organizations, and numerous public schools had their names changed to reflect illustrious CPP wealthy families.
The Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, a purportedly nonprofit organization that promotes education and healthcare across the nation, was also presided over by Hun Sen’s eldest brother. & nbsp,
In the minds of younger voters, the CPP has come to be seen as a destination for much of the country’s political generosity over the past ten years.
However, there was a stick for every academic turnip. There is proof that the CPP’s top executives started line-editing the Thai education in 2009, removing material they deemed to be harmful to their interests. More recently, subjects like the color revolution were included in textbooks, & nbsp, which matched Hun Sen’s rhetoric with courses in education.
These initiatives centrally stifled the growth of critical thinking among Cambodia’s children, just as the opponent was systematically destroyed. Many young people were taught to recognize the status quo and not question the way things are now. The CPP did everything it could to prevent reruns of the 2013 poll, and it was successful.
Controlling children and education, putting an end to internal strife, and eliminating any criticism paved the way for Manet’s coronation. It is possible— though certainly not inevitable — that Hun Manet’s reign will continue unchallenged for years, if not decades, to come because the effects of these strategies are likely to last long after the election.
At the University of Canberra, Will Brehm teaches as an associate professor of education. He is the co-editor of .apo-tokyo.org/publications/public-policy-innovation-for-human-capital-development/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Public Policy Innovation for Human Capital Development, & nbsp, Memory in the Mekong, and npsc, as well as the author of .taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003397144/education-power-contemporary-southeast-asia-azmil-tayeb-rosalie-metro-brehm” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Education and Power in Contemporary Southeast Asia and .routledge.com/Cambodia-for-Sale-Everyday-Privatization-in-Education-and-Beyond/Brehm/p/book/9780367712044″ rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Cambodia for Sale.
This andnbsp, post, and was originally published by East Asia Forum and are being reprinted with permission from Creative Commons.