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Analyses, Perspectives and Opinions

RLS Southeast Asia regularly publishes political analyses and working papers on current and relevant topics from the Mekong Region. Together with our partners, we shed light on different opinions and introduce perspectives on pressing social and ecological questions and challenges. The publications are categorized according to topics and countries and can be selected using the links below.

Lockdown, Debt and Job Losses: The impact of the pandemic on Cambodian farm workers

The Southeast Asian state of Cambodia remains predominantly rural. Despite industrialization and booming economic growth in recent decades, over 70 percent of its population continues to live and work in the countryside, overwhelmingly as agricultural workers on farms. But how has the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns, which we tend to associate with urban areas, affected the countryside?

All covid-19 infected cases treated but schools in Cambodia are still close

According to the Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron, temporary closure of all schools will continue indefinitely to prevent a second wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in Cambodia.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Value Extraction from the Mekong: A Case study on the Control and Exploitation of Land and Labor in Cambodia and Myanmar SEZs

The study shows that SEZs in Greater Mekong Sub-region have played an important role in regional integration and economic development, however, they have been developed with limited transparency and locals are not involved in the planning process.

[German only] The end of the blockade - Agreement between government and opposition parties in Cambodia could contribute to democratisation

If Hun Sens succeeds in his experiment to dare "more democracy", people in Cambodia could hope for a better future. But the road still seems long.

Communal Foreign Policy: A Tool for Achieving Target Goals and for the Progression of Social Equality in the Global South and Global North

In his working paper the author Mr Khai Phung is aiming to introduce the concept of district partnerships as a tool of communal foreign policy.

[German only] Cambodia - EU Trade Initiative "Everything But Arms"

In his working paper in German language Fabian Kiessling is analysing the impacts of the European Union’s “Everything But Arms” program in Cambodia on the life of the rural population.

[German only] Parliamentary elections in Cambodia

In his report, the author Manuel Palz aims to summarize the developments prior and after the General Elections in Cambodia.