by Guest9999 » Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:58 am
'HE' was a master of patronage. A real web master. It wasn't always true that he had FAR more power than anyone else as an individual, it was just that everyone with any power, or aspirations for it, believed (with good reason) that since virtually all power was in alignment with HE, it was crazy to consider going against him, and very sensible to go along with what HE was doing, even if you had no real connections or power yourself.
HM grew up in that web, and seems to have purposely strengthened some or the strands he is inheriting, but it is certainly still unknown if he can maintain the network over time. HM doesn't need democracy now, or when his dad makes the decision to cede power, but eventually it may become an important support to maintaining his power.
Folks are saying the main motivation for Putin in Ukraine, is he fears an actual democracy of 'similar' people on his border. We all know democracy is messy and inefficient, but we all like the dream that our vote matters, that if enough of us don't like what some leader is doing, they are out: we are the boss. Putin, Xi, HE, etc, know that that is a simplification, with all seeing eavesdropping and control of all input media the masses are easily manipulated, but in their sleep, they fear democracy nevertheless.
Yet, though Cambodia is deep in Xi's pocket, both HE and HM (I imagine), have the Cambodian strong push for independence and freedom. Yes, Cambodians follow, they all got vaxed when asked, and they built those old rock piles, most say, mostly without slavery or undue physical compulsion. Yet, Cambodia is a physically small country today because factional leaders - mostly brothers and relatives - strove for independence, and to do so meant giving slices of the country away to gain external support. In some antivaxer posts I hear the writer implying Khmers are mere sheeple, well, yes, they are OK to follow given the circumstances, but any company boss here can tell you, they don't like simply being told what to do.
I don't know how personally respected HM is in the big power circles, but on the ground, among younger, urban, educated Khmers, he has won a great deal of support. HM will become leader with or without that, but I think he would be wise to cultivate it. (Even if Xi would rather downplay democracy, and push "Leader for Life" as the right and good model for the whole planet.)
'HE' was a master of patronage. A real web master. It wasn't always true that he had FAR more power than anyone else as an individual, it was just that everyone with any power, or aspirations for it, believed (with good reason) that since virtually all power was in alignment with HE, it was crazy to consider going against him, and very sensible to go along with what HE was doing, even if you had no real connections or power yourself.
HM grew up in that web, and seems to have purposely strengthened some or the strands he is inheriting, but it is certainly still unknown if he can maintain the network over time. HM doesn't need democracy now, or when his dad makes the decision to cede power, but eventually it may become an important support to maintaining his power.
Folks are saying the main motivation for Putin in Ukraine, is he fears an actual democracy of 'similar' people on his border. We all know democracy is messy and inefficient, but we all like the dream that our vote matters, that if enough of us don't like what some leader is doing, they are out: we are the boss. Putin, Xi, HE, etc, know that that is a simplification, with all seeing eavesdropping and control of all input media the masses are easily manipulated, but in their sleep, they fear democracy nevertheless.
Yet, though Cambodia is deep in Xi's pocket, both HE and HM (I imagine), have the Cambodian strong push for independence and freedom. Yes, Cambodians follow, they all got vaxed when asked, and they built those old rock piles, most say, mostly without slavery or undue physical compulsion. Yet, Cambodia is a physically small country today because factional leaders - mostly brothers and relatives - strove for independence, and to do so meant giving slices of the country away to gain external support. In some antivaxer posts I hear the writer implying Khmers are mere sheeple, well, yes, they are OK to follow given the circumstances, but any company boss here can tell you, they don't like simply being told what to do.
I don't know how personally respected HM is in the big power circles, but on the ground, among younger, urban, educated Khmers, he has won a great deal of support. HM will become leader with or without that, but I think he would be wise to cultivate it. (Even if Xi would rather downplay democracy, and push "Leader for Life" as the right and good model for the whole planet.)