Embodied national history

Leaders, regime change, and regional historiographical trends of independent Cambodia

Dados Bibliográficos

ID20210482
AutoresTheara Thun (0000-0001-9407-8324, Chinese University of Hong Kong, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume22
Fascículo1
Páginas123-140
Data de publicação2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Journal of Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1479-5914 • E-ISSN: 1479-5922
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1479591424000184
OpenAlexW4403200783
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas25

Post-independence national historical writings have often been seen as a product of nationalist advocacy and modern nation-state formation. Moving beyond this perspective, this article considers how political leaders took a direct role in promoting different kinds and forms of collective historical thoughts to strengthen their leadership. Specifically, the article explores an active engagement of independent Cambodia's leaders such as Prince Sihanouk, Lon Nol, and Pol Pot, who independently saw national historical understanding as one's own monopolized source of power. It also discusses how different historical accounts in the country were shaped by, and kept up with, other important factors such as Cold War confrontations and regional and global historiographical trends, including “Modernist” and “Marxist” approaches. Discussing these factors helps us understand more critically national historical accounts, which were closely intertwined with specific socioreligious and political circumstances such as political rule and legitimacy, widespread public anxieties, and geopolitical tensions. It also sheds light on the substantial impact of state-imposed historical interpretations on society. As informed by the Cambodian case, this impact can be seen in the implementation of state projects stirred by certain kinds of historical understanding which consequently transformed the living conditions of thousands of people

Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Geography · Historiography · Political science · Cambodian History and Society · History · Law · Philosophy · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies