Thomas Dougherty

Cambodia: from Killing Fields to Field of Dreams Thomas Dougherty

Publisher Marketing: Although the Paris Peace Accords of October 1991 opened the way for peace in Cambodia, the country has always "enjoyed" a violent history. As a small country, about the size of the state of Missouri, a lot of news or information about Cambodia does not surface. What does occasionally make the news is the fact that the Khmer Rouge are still actively doing something in the country, the country best known as the "Killing Fields." This paper begins with a brief history of Cambodia to include what the United Nations accomplished there in the early 1990s. Did the work of the United Nations help Cambodia realize the potential of democracy? The paper also addresses Cambodia's current political, military, and social status. The conclusions will show that although the first free and fair elections in 20 years were successfully held in 1993, much internal work remains. The United States granted most favored nation (MFN) status to Cambodia in 1995. Additionally, there is talk of Cambodia joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the summer of 1997. In order to pave the way for both MFN and ASEAN status, the United Nations presence helped break down years of Cambodian isolation. How has this affected Cambodia? Many thousands of refugees who sought to save their very existence escaped to various countries during the period of the Pol Pot regime (1975-1979).