The Politics of Win-Win Memorialization in Cambodia

This essay critically examines the commemorations of the Win-Win policy, a strategy developed by former Prime Minister Hun Sen in the 1990s to bring an end to Cambodia’s civil war through the dissolution of the Khmer Rouge movement and reintegration of its members into society. Through the construction of Win-Win memorials, museums, slogan campaigns, and curated media naratives the Cambodian government, led by the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), has institutionalized a narrative that casts Hun Sen as the architect of peace, stability, and development. This essay analyzes how these commemorative practices are used as instruments of political legitimation, embedding selective memories into public space while obscuring the alternative narratives and the lived experiences of those directly affected by decades of conflict and mass violence. In doing so, the Win-Win commemorations reveal less about Cambodia’s transition from war to peace and more about the politics of memory, in which the past is selectively reshaped to consolidate political power, maintain legitimacy, and suppress alternative voices or contested histories.