Cambodia after UNTAC: The Domestic Limits to International Intervention

Abstract

The UN's unprecedented commitment in Cambodia was to be the harbinger of a revived role for the UN in enhancing international peace and security in the post-Cold War era. However, in the initial optimism associated with this renewed hope, the nature of the challenge the UN faces in cases of international intervention was not fully recognised. This paper focuses on the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and the nature of Cambodian politics since UNTAC. In drawing attention to the complexity of domestic conflict in Cambodia, it argues that if there is a lesson to be learnt from UNTAC, it lies in the need to examine the limits of international attempts to transform political cultures and to monitor political developments and enforce agreements once a mandate has expired.