Background to Cambodia

Cambodia's emergence as a constitutional monarchy in 1993 was the result of four years of sweeping changes on top of more than twenty years of turmoil.

Its earlier history had, perhaps, been less dramatic, but it was nevertheless marked by periods of authoritarian rule and conflict, from the disintegration of the Kingdom of Funan in the 6th century through the Khmer Empire in the 12th and 13th centuries and on to colonial rule in the 19th century. National insecurity has been a continuous presence throughout Cambodia's history. The period of greatest insecurity began in the late 1960s, continued throughout the 1970s and beyond to the low intensity guerrilla warfare of the 1980s and early 1990s. Cambodia has passed through much of its history incognito, but it has also had moments of infamous publicity.

The Pre-Colonial Era (before 1863)

The Colonial Era (1863-1953)

The Kindgom of Cambodia (1953-1970)

The Khmer Republic (1970-1975)

Democratic Kampuchea (DK), the Pol Pot Regime (1975-1979)

The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) (1979-1989)

The State of Cambodia (SOC) (1989-1991)

The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and the Supreme National Council (SNC) (1991-1993)

The Royal Government of Cambodia (1993-Present )