They are $\textit$, since they are continuously subject to practices of reimagination.
Taking Benedict Anderson's definition of the nation as an "imagined community" as a starting point, this thesis considers contemporary political contestation in Cambodia in terms of competing, unfinished, imagined communities. Whilst the imperative of nation-building loomed larger than ever, the main political actors continued to advance radically different imaginations of the Cambodian nation, each laying claims to exclusively represent it. lt explores three interrelated questions: What do different Cambodian political projects imagine the political contents of the nation to be? How do these competing imaginations bear on political party actors' claims to represent the nation? How do competing imaginations of the nation play out in contemporary Cambodian politics? This leads to a fourth question: How useful can attention to national imaginings be for understanding political developments in a post-conflict setting? In 1993, multi-party democratic elections were held and a constitutional monarchy reinstated in Cambodia, in the wake of more than two decades of civil war. Brilliantly incisive, Anderson's analysis shows how good interpretative skills can form the foundations for compelling and original insight.This dissertation examines the national imaginations advanced by political party actors in the Kingdom of Cambodia (KOC, 1993 - ). The analysis that follows from this insight is all about examining and breaking down the historical processes that helped foster these communities - above all the birth of printing, and the development of capitalism. But if this is the case, how can we agree what a 'nation' is? Anderson's proposed definition is that they are "imagined communities" - comprising groups of people who regard themselves as belonging to the same community, even if they have never met, and have nothing in common otherwise. For Anderson, it is clear that nations are not 'natural ' as historians and anthropologists are well aware, nations as we understand them are a relatively modern phenomenon, dating back only as far as around 1500. One crucial aspect of Anderson's work involves the apparently simple act of defining precisely what we mean when we say 'nation' or 'nationalism' - an interpretative step that is vital to the analysis he proceeds to carry out. Is a ground-breaking analysis of the origins and meanings of "nations" and "nationalism".Ī book that helped reshape the field of nationalism studies,Īlso shows the critical thinking skills of interpretation and analysis working at their highest levels.
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