Abstract

ABSTRACT

Re-imagining Khmer Identity:
Angkor Wat during the People’s Republic of Kampuchea
(1979-1989)

Simon Bailey

The People’s Republic of Kampuchea period between 1979 and 1989 is often overlooked when scholars work on the history of modern Cambodia. This decade is an academic blind spot sandwiched between the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime and the onset of the United Nations peace process. Utilizing mediums such as popular culture, postage stamps and performance art, this thesis will show how the single most identifiable image of Cambodian culture, Angkor Wat became a cultural binding agent for the government during the 1980s. To prove the centrality of Angkor in the myth-making and nation building mechanisms of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea, primary source material from Cambodia’s archives, along with interviews will form the foundation of this investigation. By studying Angkor Wat during Cambodia’s revolutionary moment one can view the malleability of national identity, and the situational political methodology constructed by newly formed, fragile regimes.