Cambodia is found in South East Asia and its population is estimated to be around 15 million. Its government embraces a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy. This bred of democracy has been a problem in the country for the last two decades. This is because in the last 20 years the country has experienced unending political instability which at times leads to huge losses of lives. In the last decade political instability in the country has been characterized by war and coups that seek to remove the totalitarian government of the day (“After the Killing”, 2009). To be specific the country has experienced four bloody coups in this period. Although sometimes a coup is justified; coups in the country has been a curse to the economy.
First of all, political instability has provided a room for corruption to thrive and this has discouraged investment in the key sectors in the economy. Politicians have been accused know and then for diverting money meant for national projects into their own pockets. In addition, corruption within the government has discouraged direct foreign investment in the country as well as delay in release of foreign aid to the country by international donors (Lempert, 2007). Poverty and hunger in the country resulting from prolonged periods of fighting has also affected the economy. This is in relation to availability of resources for investment and labour in the economy. Commenting on the same theme (“After the Killing”, 2009) posits that ‘due to extended periods of political instability and starvation Cambodians can no longer afford the resource or even the strength that is needed in a labour force.’
Reference
After the Killing Fields: Political Instability and Its Effect on Chronic Hunger in Cambodia. 2009. Web.
Lempert, D (2007): Foreign Aid: Creating Conditions for the Next Civil War. New York: McGraw-Hill Company.