A Tiger Rules the Mountain

Cambodia’s Pursuit of Democracy

De: Gordon Conochie

Narrado por: Gordon Conochie, Ou Ritthy

Learn about how the dichotomous twins of idealism and pragmatism, of freedom and power, and of hope and fear are pitched against each other, wrestling for the future of Cambodia. This is Cambodia through the lens of human stories in what journalists and politicians have called 'gripping', 'a tour de force' and 'a must read'.

Cambodias Hun Sen was the worlds longest-serving prime minister, in power since 1985, until handing power over to his son in August 2023. Hun Sens plans for a dynasty were nearly ripped up in 2013 however, when the exiled opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, unexpectedly returned just before a national election. One hundred thousand supporters hailed him at the airport as protests swept the country. On election day, millions voted for change. This narrative non-fiction account tells the dramatic story of that election and the subsequent multi-year wrestle for power, right through to the dramatic events of the present day.

Gordon Conochie lived and worked in the country and interviewed many involved in the events, including government officials, journalists, young human-rights activists and opposition politicians. The story he finds is both complex and riveting: Cambodias history is riven with trauma yet there is a powerful and swelling appetite for change. Looking ahead to Cambodias future and the role of democracy in South-East Asia, Conochie examines whether we will continue to see a backslide in liberal democracy or if the region could gradually be on the path to a more liberal future.

See photos and videos from the events covered in the book, and read bonus chapters at the book's website: atigerrules.com

©2023 Monash University Publishing (P)2024 Gordon Conochie

Interesting

Cambodia is probably an obscure country to most westerners, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to get here. The book is really good - an engaging and informed study of a country struggling to democratize. You don’t need to know much about Cambodia or the region to take something away from this - you just need to be interested in politics in theory and in practice. One important quibble - it is typically a bad decision for the author to read his own book, and that is certainly true here. I’m sure the author had the best intentions (to do the people who took a risk sitting for an interview with him credit), but his heavy Scottish accent just doesn’t work with the Cambodian voices he tries to do.