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For many people Cambodia\u2019s modern history is overshadowed by the devastation and horror of the Khmer Rouge era between 1975 and 1979. Yet arguably the period since the fall of the Khmer Rouge has been much more significant in shaping the Cambodia of today. Perhaps more than any other Southeast Asian country Cambodia\u2019s political leaders have had to deal with much more powerful outsiders: France, Vietnam, Thailand, the US, China, and the \u201cinternational community\u201d. No-one has been more adept at playing this political game than Cambodia\u2019s remarkable prime minister, Hun Sen, now Southeast Asia\u2019s longest serving political leader. Despite the international community\u2019s best efforts since the early 1990s to fashion Cambodia into a model liberal democracy, Hun Sen and the Cambodian People\u2019s Party (CPP) have eliminated all opposition to create a highly authoritarian state. Yet at the same time, and despite huge disparities in wealth, Cambodia is arguably more stable and prosperous than at any time in its traumatic modern history. Sebastian Strangio has documented this remarkable story in his book,\xa0Cambodia: From Pol Pot to Hun Sen and Beyond\xa0(Yale University Press, 2020).\nPatrick Jory teaches Southeast Asian History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry at the University of Queensland. He can be reached at: p.jory@uq.edu.au.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/genocide-studies