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State Mobilization in Authoritarian Regimes: Youth Politics and Regime Legitimation in Cambodia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2022

Mun Vong
Mun Vong*
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: m.vong@griffith.edu.au
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Abstract

This article explains the political significance of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, the quasi-youth wing of the ruling Cambodian People's Party in Cambodia. I argue that pro-regime events organized by the youth wing are a form of state mobilization designed to help the ruling party pre-empt the threat posed by the country's growing youth population. In doing so, the youth wing draws upon the monarchy, culture, and nationalism to regenerate the ruling party's legitimacy claims to make them more appealing to the target group. The article contributes to our knowledge of how authoritarian regimes mobilize citizens to maintain power.

Keywords

state mobilizationlegitimationauthoritarian regimeyouth wingCambodia
Type
Article
Information
Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , November 2022 , pp. 411 - 434
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the East Asia Institute

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