Explain the internal and external political causes of the rise of the Khmer Rouge in the

1960’s and its political evolution in the 1970’s. Your answer should include the political

context after 1954 and address the creation and the evolution of Khmer Rouge policies.

The reign of Khmer Rouge in Cambodia lasted between 1975 and 1979, when Pol Pot

marched with his group of followers into Phnom Penh after defeating the reigning military

government that had ousted Prince Norodom from power. Pol Pot’s ascendency to power marked

what is famously termed as “Year zero” for Cambodia, which he had renamed to Kampuchea,

which meant that the country’s over 2000 years of history would be erased. While Pol Pot and

the Khmer Rouge ascended to power with massive support of the Cambodian people, their initial

popularity levels within the country was not promising. Due to several political factors before

1975, specifically following the Geneva Conference of 1954 that ended French rule in Indochina,

like the military coup against Prince Norodom and the Vietnam War, the Khmer Rouge slowly

gained popularity and support until their eventual takeover of Cambodia.

Political Context After 1954

Internal Political Factors

Colonial Cambodia was under the subtle influence of the French rule, where the French exerted

their influence over the monarch leader, King Norodom, in exchange for protection against

invasion from Vietnam and Thailand and rival dynasties. This influence and exploitation was

done under the radar of the Cambodian people, who embraced the French and were unaware of

their economic exploitation and historical manipulation. After World War II, the exploitation of

the French was exposed to Cambodians, leading to a period of unrest which saw Cambodia gain

its independence in 1954. Successive leaders like Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Lol Non, and Pol
Pot, saw themselves as iconic Cambodian leaders of old, aiming to restore Cambodia to its pre-

colonial grandeur. This view set the stage for a series of ethnic cleansing in Cambodia by

succeeding regimes, reaching its heights with the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

Khmer Rouge’s ascendency to power is linked tightly with the overthrowing of Prince

Norodom Sihanouk by General Lon Nol. When Sihanouk ascended to power after Cambodia’s

independence, his government assumed a policy of foreign neutrality as the Cold War went on.

This move aimed to appease Cambodian pro-Vietnamese communists to achieve stability in

Cambodia, and to prevent Cambodia from getting involved in the escalating conflict in

Cambodia. During his stable reign which lasted for about 10 years, Sihanouk drastically

improved Cambodia’s education system, which led to massive number of educational

beneficiaries who were unable to get jobs due to the country’s weak economy. However, his

regime was marred with corruption and social injustices which kept the rural population poor and

the educated without jobs. This led to social unrest among the young educated Cambodians,

who led an armed conflict against Sihanouk after forming the Communist Party of Kampuchea

led by Saloth Sar. Coupled with the effects of Vietnam War that spilled to Cambodia, Sihanouk

was unable to hold on to power and was eventually overthrown by General Lon Nol who led the

persecutions of over 300,000 ethnic Vietnamese residents, forcing others to flee to Vietnam.

However, Sihanouk’s reign had seen him highly favored by the urban population of Cambodia,

and his subsequent alliance with the Khmer Rouge increased Khmer Rouge’s popularity with the

urban population which had previously been very low.

However, the Khmer Rouge’s military complied of a majority poor peasants from the

countryside who had very little education. These poor rural peasants-turned-soldiers had extreme

loathing for the urban population, whom they felt had contributed to their oppression.
Consequently, as the Khmer Rouge ascended into power, the cities were quickly emptied of its

inhabitants who were forced to the countryside to work on collective farms.

External Political Factors

The escalation of the Vietnam War by the United States after 1964 greatly weakened

Cambodia’s economy and destabilized its peace. By 1966, vast amounts of rice were being

smuggled across Cambodian borders which deprived Sihanouk’s government of their much-

needed export duty revenue from rice. Additionally, Vietnamese communists were seeking

asylum in neutral territory in Cambodia, which increased their numbers in Cambodia, setting the

stage for the future ethnic cleansing by the future regimes of general Lon Nol and Khmer Rouge.

Additionally, when President Nixon ordered extensive bombings of the Vietcong supply routes

in the eastern parts of Cambodian borders, there was increased unrest as the government was

seen as a puppet of the U.S. government and allowing the bombings. With the control of the

French over the Cambodian Monarch fresh in their minds, this was an accusation hard to ignore,

leading to further destabilization. As both sides’ soldiers moved further into Cambodia in

defense and pursuit, Lol Nol lost control of the Cambodian countryside, further weakening his

military control. Furthermore, as the U.S. continued bombing the Cambodian countryside, over

100,000 Cambodian died, while the survivors were forced to join the Khmer Rouge to get a

sense of security. This helped increase the number of the members of Khmer Rouge and

consequently, its influence.

Creation and Evolution of Khmer Rouge Policies

Having been educated under the French education system, Pol Pot believed the historical

false portrayal of Cambodia as a self-sufficient powerhouse post colonialism. It is no wonder that

countryside to produce food for the nation. To effect this, the CPK led the evictions of people

from urban areas to rural areas to forcefully serve in rice farms to contribute toward the country’s

agricultural economic growth. The regime’s “Four-Year Plan” dictated that Cambodians were to

produce at least three tons of rice per hectare across the whole nation, which meant that labor

would be required all-year. Often, Cambodians were forced to work for over 12 hours without

enough rest or food.

Additionally, they sought to transform the country to a classless nation using their radical

Maoist and Marxist-Leninist program where the country would have no social classes, unequal

distribution of wealth, and social and economic exploitation. To achieve this goal, they did away

with the country’s currency, markets, national education system, private ownership of property,

foreign fashion, various religion like Islam, and Cambodia’s traditional culture. Moreover, they

repurposed the existing institutions like schools, religious buildings, shops, and government

facilities among others, into prisons, camps for reeducation, or storage facilities for future

harvest. They prohibited and abolished both personal and public transportation, as well as leisure

and recreational activities. To create uniqueness among party members, they introduced a

uniform of black attire to symbolize loyalty towards the revolution.

During their reign, they also abolished all forms of gathering, as they tried to prevent

people from engaging in political discussions that would fuel new uprising or revolutions. People

were denied their basic rights, and gathering or engaging in discussions would lead to people

being accused of planning a revolution, and consequently, they would be executed. The CPK

went as far as examining and restraining familial bonds, as showing affection, displaying humor,
or showing empathy were strictly forbidden. The only authority Cambodians were supposed to

show loyalty and respect to were the Angkar Padevat, who were the ruling elite of the CPK.

Throughout the propagation of these policies, the Khmer Rouge promoted the idea that

only the people found to be ideologically pure could contribute toward the revolution. As a

result, they targeted and eventually executed thousands of Cambodians who were linked to the

previous regime, since they were deemed to be impure. Additionally, as time went on, they

systematically murdered hundreds of thousands of educated people, people living in urban areas,

and other ethnic minorities within the country like the Cham, Vietnamese, and Chinese. Of the

14,000 detainees in the infamous S-21 prison, only a few individuals incarcerated there survived.

Ironically, the regime sought the end of Cambodia’s traditional culture as it taught

Cambodians to be strictly obedient towards the elder, parents, and people in authority. In its

stead, the physical leaders to whom obedience and reverence was to be accorded were replaced

by an imaginary, all-powerful Angkor. This omnipotent entity that was originally hidden from

the people, formed the epitome of belief and faith for Cambodians, and they had to comply or

risk being executed.

Provide a comparative analysis of French economic policies in Indochina and of the

Spanish Philippines

The French occupation of Southeast Asian countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos

resulted in a series of economic exploitation of the locals through underpaid labor and unfair

taxation which left the locals languishing in poverty and living in deplorable conditions.

Similarly, the Spanish induced taxes in their Philippine territory, imposed forced labor on the

Filipinos, and exploited their natural resources. However, while exploiting these resources, both
human and environmental, they also undertook several developmental initiatives to improve

these colonies. The French, especially, used vast amount of resources to develop their Indochina

territories, prompting them to look for devious ways to increase their revenue through increased

taxation. A comparative analysis of economic policies between the French in Indochina and the

Spanish in the Philippines reveals several similarities and differences.

Taxation

Spanish policy on taxation was the complete over-taxation of Filipinos and trade in the

Philippines to provide revenue to Spain instead of developing the Philippines. In Philippines, the

larger share of the taxation went towards the maintenance of state paraphernalia, and among

them, the military claimed the largest share. As a result, there was little left for development. The

earliest form of taxation imposed on the Filipinos were the tribute, which was paid in kind or in

specie. When paid in kind, the tax could be collected in form of chicken, rice, wine, and coconut

oil. When paid in specie, the tax was collected in gold coin. Due to losses in collection and lack

of accountability for the collected taxes, the system was abolished and replaced by a graduated

poll tax. The poll tax was collected through the cedula personal, a certificate of identification

that one had to carry around. This taxation was imposed on individuals, and was collected

according to a person’s income. The highest class of individuals paid up to 37,50 pesos, while

the lowest class paid 1,50 pesos. Despite being progressive, this tax created a heavier burden on

the lowest class of individuals. Towards the end of the end of the Spanish reign in Philippines,

the cédula was the major form of taxation for the Spanish government, and yielded between five

and six million pesos a year. It yielded way better that the tribute system as the tribute system

saw the number of individuals exempted from taxation increase dramatically. Two more direct

taxes were imposed in Philippines in the forms of urbana and industria. Urbana was taxed on the
yearly rental value of urban real estate properties at the rate of 5%. Industria was levied on

wages, dividends, and profits by commercial enterprises. Notably, no taxes were imposed on the

locals for land ownership, though ownership was a complicated affair.

Aside from the direct taxes, indirect taxes were imposed on the Filipinos in form of

custom duties on imports and exports. These tariffs were meant to increase Spain’s revenue

rather than maintain its industries, as Spain had few industries back at home as well as in its

colonies apart from the tobacco industry that it monopolized. The custom duties varied according

to the value of goods, ranging from 3% to 10%. Also notable was the absence of an excise tax.

Other taxes were imposed on the sales of stamped paper, liquor, cockpits, and opium.

Like the Spanish, the French also imposed heavy taxation on its territory of Indochina.

However, unlike the Spanish, the greatest generator of revenue for the French government in

Indochina was the indirect taxes imposed on foreign trade and consumer goods. Duties were

imposed on their major exports, with the most important being rice and opium. Nevertheless,

there is a complex linkage between the imposition of land tax on the natives and the increase in

rice and opium production in French Indochina.

When the French government realized they needed more revenue to cater for

administrative costs of running Indochina, they set about creating Indochina to be a source of

market for French products, most of which were grown in Indochina. Doumer, a prominent

French politician was put in charge of this task, and he set about advocating for the increased use

of opium which had previously been confined to a small population of Chinese in Vietnam. After

a lot of Vietnamese were addicted, he raised the taxes on opium, increasing their revenue by over

30%. They also imposed land tax, and the people who were unable to pay their taxes were forced

to work on opium and rice farms at minimal wages that could barely sustain them and their
families. In return, they were told to be grateful for earning an employment. On the other hand,

the French colonists were given land free of charge, while the individuals who lost their lands

were hired to work on them for minimal pay.

In this regard, the Spanish land distribution system and taxation was different for their

Philippine colony. The Spanish crown had the ultimate control over the land in Philippines, and

allocated them to encomenderos who were in charge of the natives living within their

encomiendas, and collected tributes (tax) from them, and received free labor in return for

protecting the natives and educating them on Christianity. However, the Filipinos were far from

protected, and were frequently abused by the encomenderos. Finally, the system was abolished

and the Filipinos were forced to work on the fields in a system called Polo y Servicio. While no

land tax were imposed on them that made them lose their lands on failure to pay, they lost their

lands to the encomienda system and were forced to work on them.

Trade, Developments, and Economic Investments

In terms of trade, the Spanish controlled most of the trade activities with the aim of

increasing their revenue to maintain their military strength in the Philippines. Foreign natives

were largely kept out of trade by the Spanish, and only the Chinese were allowed to trade by

virtue of their silk products. The Spanish aimed for this monopoly as they did not prioritize on

production or manufacture of goods, and wanted a huge share of revenue through trade profits

and custom duties. On the other hand, the French barely participated in trade activities, allowing

the Chinese to take major control of the trade as they concentrated on production.

Specifically, the French focused on rice and rubber production. The French colonial

policies aimed at ensuring that French colonies provided France with raw materials.
Consequently, French Indochina was set up to be a productive state for France rather than a

manufacturing one1. This is evidenced by the 1937 GDP, which reported that the traditional

sectors of agriculture, forestry, and handicrafts accounted for over 66% of the GDP.

Consequently, French investment toward agricultural production was majorly geared towards

rice, which was the major export crop. Later on, investment of rubber plantation also increased,

with the colony producing vast amounts of rubber, making it one of the most important export

crops alongside rice. These produced raw materials were exported to France, who in turn,

exported finished manufactured products back to Indochina. In Indochina itself, processing

factories were set up, especially in the textile industry which led to the eventual recognition of

indigenous textile weavers.

As opposed to the French, the Spanish’s only agricultural interest in the Philippines was

tobacco and to some extent, sugar. Moreover, unlike the French who allowed competition from

Thailand and Burma, the Spanish aimed for complete monopoly of tobacco trade in the

Philippine market. In the early years of tobacco production, the Philippine town of Gapan

supplied the monopoly with tobacco, and the Spanish state strictly controlled production rates,

ensuring that overproduction could not occur leading to reduction in tobacco prices. This was

done to maximize profits from the sale of tobacco. When world demand for tobacco increased,

the Spanish government encouraged greater production instead of its earlier restriction policy.

Despite massive profits, the Spanish government continually exploited the Filipino tobacco

growers, depriving them of pay to the extent that the overall debt at one time, was more than the

net profit generated by the Spanish government from the sale of tobacco.

1
Pham, Thuy Van, “Beyond Political Skin”, Springer Singapore, (2019), 1-35.
 Of note, is the lack of Spanish investment in the Philippines, as opposed to the massive

private French investment in Indochina. Investments in Agricultural activities were highest,

followed by mining and industrialization. This increased investment in Indochina by the French

led to increased development projects which led to the construction of the trans-Indochina

railway in Vietnam, as well as the development of elaborate systems of farming and irrigation to

aid rice production all year long. To the contrary, in Philippines, while the Manila-Acapulco

Galleon Trade ensured continued prosperity of the Spanish colonialists, there was little in way of

investments in the colony’s industries or infrastructure. The only point of development was at the

capital, Manila, which was at the center of the trade. As long as the Spanish colonial government

got its revenue from taxes and trade to meet the administrative costs of the Philippines, they did

not care about the economic prosperity of its colony. The only notable company launched in the

Philippines was the Royal Philippine Company by King Charles III, which aimed not to promote

production or manufacture, but the distribution of Chinese and Indian goods to Spain through the

Cape of Good Hope.