Cambodia

The now officially known as the kingdom of Cambodia and once known as Khmer Empire is a country located in Southeast Asia. Cambodia has a bad political history behind it.It was a protectorate of France since 1863 and gained independence in 1953.It was also affected by the extension of Vietnam war that saw its bombing from 1969 to 1973.There is the pre-Angkorian era and Angkorian era. Angkor was the ruling king when a series of wars with the neighboring kingdoms were witnessed.

Cambodia is located on the Indochinese isthmus. It is abutted Thailand and Laos on the northern part and Vietnam on the Easter and Southern regions. The state is characterized by a large alluvial plain. It is also surrounded by mountains. The Mekong River is on the eastern side. Mekong River drains its water at Lake Tonle Sap.

The Cambodian government

The Cambodian state is a one-party state. This is despite the fact the nation is constitutionally a multiparty democratic state. The government is led by prime minister Hun Sen. The prime minister is in reality an authoritarian leader. Hun Sen swore he will rule until he will be 74 years old. The government regularly ignores human rights. This leads to the suppression of political dissent. This was proved after the 2013 elections. Sen disputed the results after the voting system. The citizens went to the streets to protest. Many of the protesters were hurt and other killed.

The government offices are highly corrupt. Favoritism and impunity is the order of the day in a majority of the offices. These range from the medical, traffic as well as court rulings. Those who hold key offices are influential in all the decisions making process ion those offices. Business enterprises are pushed to paying heavy bribes to be able to acquire licenses and business permits.

International relations

Cambodia has developed diplomatic relations with many nations. Those nations have embassies in Cambodia. The aim of the diplomatic relations is to foster peace and unity among the nations. The foreign relations have led to developments in the social, economic and civil aspects in the nations.

Cambodia highly depends on China for its foreign direct investment. The national natural gas and oil has not been tapped. This is majorly due to the conflicts with Thailand. Most of the elderly populate is illiterate. This affects the nation’s infrastructure. The corruption levels discourage foreign investors from investing in Cambodia.