The Authoritarianism-Pandemic Nexus in Cambodia: prospects for social, economic and political inclusion in a post-pandemic world

The Covid-19 pandemic has arrived during a global rise in authoritarian government. It is necessary to evaluate measures to curb the pandemic not only in terms of saving lives and protecting livelihoods, but also in terms of authoritarian consolidation. The pandemic is contributing to forms of governance, which undermine the prospect of achieving SDGs, especially SDG 10.2, which focuses on social, economic and political inclusion for all.

Using the case of Cambodia, this study aims to investigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the prospects for inclusive development in authoritarian settings. It will focus on disrupted political trajectories at national level and disrupted livelihood trajectories at local level.

The objective is to answer the following questions:

1. How have national political actors made use of the opportunities and challenges presented by the pandemic for adapting and contesting authoritarian rule?
2. How is the pandemic, and the authoritarian government’s response to it, re-shaping people’s capabilities to access resources and achieve sustainable livelihoods, and what forms of adaptation and resistance to authoritarian rule are emerging in response?
3. What are the implications of these national and local responses for the pursuit of social, economic and political inclusion in a post-pandemic world?

The project team comprises a political scientist and two human geographers, all with long experience of researching sensitive topics in Cambodia.