Rouviere 2181231: Establishing Multidimensional Credibility to Overcome Barriers to Negotiated Settlement

Abstract

This thesis explores how the Cambodian state was able to establish multidimensional credibility, in the span of three years, vis-à-vis the Khmer Rouge in the Pailin region in order to catalyze defections by local power brokers, and ultimately bring a negotiated settlement to Khmer Rouge Insurgency. This process is reconstructed using local newspaper articles written at the time, as well NGO reports, analyzed through a synthesis of rational choice theory and structurationism. The Cambodian state overcame the barriers to negotiated settlement using a three-pronged approach to commitment issues: first, it addressed state weakness, mainly through military integration, to resolve the security dilemma faced by potential KR defectors; building on this foundation of security, the RG then moved to incentivize long-term adherence to the conditions of integration by offering KR power brokers a political-economic stake in Cambodia’s post-conflict development; finally, discourse and the establishment of mutual understanding between former combatants contributed to the institutionalization of “national unity”.