Aid donors in Cambodia face a dilemma: Should they continue to support a country that has been failing to uphold democratic values or should they withdraw?
It’s a complex situation, Sebastian Strangio, journalist and author of the book “Hun Sen’s Cambodia,” said in this video interview with Devex reporting fellow Claire Luke.
While the Southeast Asian country “very purposely” maintains a façade of democracy, human rights atrocities continue to happen. Further, Cambodian President Hun Sen has been vocal about his ambivalence toward U.S. aid. He has realized, according to Strangio, that given the current U.S administration’s pivot to Asia, the world’s largest bilateral donor is still likely to seek Cambodia as an ally.
So how should donors deal with these types of regimes?
Watch the clip above to know more about Strangio’s thoughts on this dilemma, and to learn the about the extent of China’s involvement in Cambodia’s development and what it means for Western donors. In this clip, Strangio discusses aid, development and the peace process in Myanmar.
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About the author
Jacques Jimeno
Jacques is a copy editor at Devex’s news production team. Previously, he worked with the Philippine Department of Tourism and the World Wide Fund for Nature. He is currently taking his master’s degree in communication from the University of the Philippines Diliman.