Suchergebnisse

Cambodia's swing to hegemonic authoritarianism has been accompanied by a related transformation in the field of information and communication: the co-optation of digital platforms to spread a newly crafted hegemonic discourse. This article shows that Prime Minister Hun Sen has co-opted social media to promote a new, more emotive, online persona in tandem with the projection of a discourse that justifies his right to rule unchallenged. Echoes of Hun Sen's social media repertories are also evident in the online activities of his son Hun Manet, which may speak to a transference of symbolic capital prior to a possible succession in the future. At the same time, everyday users of social media in Cambodia engage in counter-hegemonic practices by valuing social media for affording access to sources of news and information not controlled by the ruling Cambodian People's Party. Yet, they also practise an active silence regarding their holding of dissenting political sentiments. This study thus also draws attention to a critical civic awareness growing among the Cambodian public at a time of deepening authoritarianism—a contradiction that may contain the seeds of new political subjectivities and future contestations to Hun Sen's hegemonic rule. (Contemp Southeast Asia/GIGA)