Book contents
- A Comparative Historical Sociology of Corruption
- Cambridge Studies in Historical Sociology
- A Comparative Historical Sociology of Corruption
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Emergence
- 2 The Emergence of Corruption in the Cambodian Land Market
- 3 The Changing Meaning of Corruption and Anti-corruption in Postwar China
- 4 Corruption and the Rule of Difference in Late Colonial Hong Kong
- 5 Governing Difference
- Part II Institutionalization
- Part III Mobilization
- Index
- References
2 - The Emergence of Corruption in the Cambodian Land Market
from Part I - Emergence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 December 2025
Book contents
- A Comparative Historical Sociology of Corruption
- Cambridge Studies in Historical Sociology
- A Comparative Historical Sociology of Corruption
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Emergence
- 2 The Emergence of Corruption in the Cambodian Land Market
- 3 The Changing Meaning of Corruption and Anti-corruption in Postwar China
- 4 Corruption and the Rule of Difference in Late Colonial Hong Kong
- 5 Governing Difference
- Part II Institutionalization
- Part III Mobilization
- Index
- References
Summary
I demonstrate the analytical value of socially and historically embedding corruption through a case study of corruption in the Cambodian land market. I proceed by taking three types of corruption commonly associated with the formal process of land registration by scholars and civil society groups – the violation of regulations and procedures (a corruption of the rules), patronage practices (a corruption of politics), and rent-seeking (a corruption of bureaucracy) – and embed these practices in the processes and situations in which they take shape. I then discuss the difference embedding makes compared to a utilitarian account of corruption (the one that scholars and civil society groups writing about the case tend to deploy). Embedding changes how we understand corruption: We see corruption as an emergent practice as opposed to being a universal one. We see that, in Cambodia, corruption is systemic as opposed to being isolated to certain individuals or agencies. We see that corruption can be a way of building bureaucratic capacity as opposed to being purely self-interested and anti-organizational.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Comparative Historical Sociology of Corruption , pp. 33 - 51Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
References
Ballard, Brett M., Sloth, Christian, Wharton, David, Fitzgerald, Ingrid, Murshid, K. A. S., Hansen, Kasper, Runsinarith, Phim, and Sovannara, Lim. (2007). “We Are Living with Worry All the Time”: A Participatory Poverty Assessment of the Tonle Sap. Phnom Penh: Cambodia Development Resource Institute.Google Scholar
Ballard, Brett M., Sophal, Chan, Phalla, Chem, Vutha, Hing, Jalilian, Hossein, Daravy, Khiev, Somatra, Kim Sean, Dalis, Phann, Runsinarith, Phim, Dorina, Pon, Vanny, Suon, and Vathana, Thun. (2008). Annual Development Review 2007–2008. Phnom Penh: Cambodia Development Resource Institute.Google Scholar
Biddulph, Robin. (2000a). Landlessness: A growing problem. Cambodia Development Review, 4(3), 1–2.Google Scholar
Biddulph, Robin. (2000b). Where Has All the Land Gone? Vol. 4: Making the Poor More Visible. Phnom Penh: Oxfam Great Britain Cambodia Land Study Project.Google Scholar
Biddulph, Robin. (2010). Geographies of evasion: The development industry and property rights interventions in early 21st century Cambodia. PhD dissertation, Department of Human and Economic Geography, University of Gothenburg.Google Scholar
Boreak, Sik. (2000). Land ownership, sales, and concentration in Cambodia. Cambodia Development Resource Institute Working Paper No. 16. https://cdri.org.kh/publication/land-ownership-sales-and-concentration-in-cambodia.Google Scholar
Bugalski, Natalie and Pred, David. (2010). Formalizing inequality: Land titling in Cambodia. Land Struggles: LRAN Briefing Paper Series.Google Scholar
Chhair, Sokty and Ung, Luyna (n.d.). Economic history of industrialization in Cambodia. Brookings Institution, Learning to Compete Working Paper No. 7. www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/L2C_WP7_Chhair-and-Ung-v2.pdf.Google Scholar
Desbarats, Jacqueline and Boreak, Sik. (2000). People and land in rural Cambodia. Cambodia Development Review, 4(3), 6–10.Google Scholar
Diepart, Jean-Christophe and Sem, Thol. (2018). The Cambodian Peasantry and the Formalisation of Land Rights. Paris: French Technical Committee on Land Tenure and Development.Google Scholar
Dwyer, Michael B. (2015). The formalization fix? Land titling, land concessions, and the politics of spatial transparency in Cambodia. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 42(5), 903–928.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ear, Sophal. (2016). Combating corruption in Cambodia. Asian Development and Education Studies, 5(3), 159–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erdmann, Gero and Engel, Ulf. (2007). Neopatrimonialism reconsidered: Critical review and elaboration of an elusive concept. Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 45(1), 95–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estes, Jennifer. (2019). Growing up in anxious times: Youth and families in Cambodia’s new economy. PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.Google Scholar
Frings, Viviane. (1994). Cambodia after decollectivization (1989–1992). Journal of Contemporary Asia, 24(1), 49–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Global Witness. (2007). Cambodia’s Family Trees: Illegal Logging and the Stripping of Public Assets by Cambodia’s Elite. Washington, DC: Global Witness.Google Scholar
Godfrey, Martin, Sovannarith, So, Saravy, Tep, Dorina, Pon, Katz, Claude, Acharya, Sarthi, Chanto, Sisowath D., and Thoraxy, Hing. (2001). A study of the Cambodian labour market: Reference to poverty reduction, growth, and adjustment to crisis. Cambodia Development Resource Institute Working Paper No. 18. https://lib.ncdd.gov.kh/storage/app/public/test_library/CAT_18925_1/2001-wp18-LabourMarket-en.pdf.Google Scholar
Grimsditch, Mark and Henderson, Nick. (2009). Untitled: Tenure Insecurity and Inequality in Cambodian Land Sector. Phnom Penh: Bridges across Borders Southeast Asia.Google Scholar
Grimsditch, Mark, Leakhana, Kol, and Sherchan, Depika. (2012). Access to Land Title in Cambodia: A Study of Systematic Land Registration in Three Cambodian Provinces and the Capital. Phnom Penh: NGO Forum on Cambodia.Google Scholar
Heder, Steve. (1995). Cambodia’s democratic transition to neoauthoritarianism. Current History, 94(596), 425–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, Caroline. (2000). Dare to say, dare to do: The strongman in business in 1990s Cambodia. Asian Perspective, 24(2), 121–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, Caroline. (2003). The Political Economy of the Cambodian Transition. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kato, Toshiyasu, Kaplan, Jeffrey A., Sophal, Chan, and Sopheap, Real. (2000). Cambodia: Enhancing governance for sustainable development. Cambodia Development Resource Institute Working Paper No. 14. https://cdri.org.kh/storage/pdf/wp14e_1617795037.pdf.Google Scholar
Le Billon, Philippe. (2002). Logging in muddy waters: The politics of forest exploitation in Cambodia. Critical Asian Studies, 34(4), 563–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lichado (Cambodian League for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights). (2005). Harmful Effects of Economic Land Concessions on Poor Cambodians. Phnom Penh: Lichado.Google Scholar
Lichado (Cambodian League for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights). (2009). Land Grabbing and Poverty in Cambodia: The Myth of Development. Phnom Penh: Lichado.Google Scholar
McKenney, Bruce and Tola, Prom. (2002). Natural resources and rural livelihoods in Cambodia: A baseline assessment. Cambodia Development Resource Institute Working Paper No. 23. https://cdri.org.kh/storage/pdf/wp23e_1617794774.pdf.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, Sarah. (2013). Under the leopard’s skin: Land commodification and the dilemma of indigenous communal title in upland Cambodia. Asia Pacific Viewpoint 54(3), 323–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, Franz-Volker and Zülsdorf, Günther. (2013). Old policies, new action: A surprising political initiative to recognize human rights in the Cambodian land reform. Presented at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, April 8–11, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Mysliwiec, Eve. (1988). Punishing the Poor: The International Isolation of Kampuchea. Oxford: Oxfam UK.Google Scholar
Ramamurthy, Bhargavi, Boreak, Sik, Ronnas, Per, and Hach, Sok. (2001). Cambodia 1999–2000: land, labour, and rural livelihood in focus. Cambodia Development Resource Institute Working Paper No. 21. https://cdri.org.kh/storage/pdf/wp21e_1617794840.pdf.Google Scholar
Sanger, David E. (1991). Corrupt officials in Cambodia put the country up for sale. New York Times, December 27.Google Scholar
Scurrah, Natalia and Hirsch, Philip. (2015). The political economy of land governance in Cambodia. Mekong Region Land Governance. www.mekonglandforum.org/sites/default/files/Political_Economy_of_Land_Governance_in_Region.pdf.Google Scholar
So, Sokbunthoeun. (2009). Political economy of land registration in Cambodia. PhD dissertation, Department of Political Science, Northern Illinois University.Google Scholar
Sokha, Pel, Le Meur, Pierre-Yves, Vitou, Sam, Lan, Laing, Setha, Pel, Leakhena, Hay, and Sothy, Im. (2008). Land transactions in rural Cambodia: A synthesis of findings from research on appropriation and derived rights to land. Études et Travaux, online series no. 18. Éditions du Gret.Google Scholar
Sokhom, Hean. (2015). A study on land disputes in four provinces of Cambodia: Mapping, impacts, and possible solutions. NGO Forum on Cambodia Land Security Project. https://ticambodia.org/library/wp-content/files_mf/1448264925AStudyonLandDisputesinFourProvincesofCambodia.pdf.Google Scholar
Sophal, Chan and Acharya, Sarthi. (2002). Land transactions in Cambodia: An analysis of transfers and transaction records. Cambodia Development Resource Institute Working Paper No. 22. https://cdri.org.kh/storage/pdf/wp22e_1617794776.pdf.Google Scholar
Sovannarith, So, Sopheap, Real, Utey, Uch, Rathmony, Sy, Ballard, Brett, and Acharya, Sarthi. (2001). Social assessment of land in Cambodia. Cambodia Development Resource Institute Working Paper No. 20. https://cdri.org.kh/storage/pdf/wp20e_1617794851.pdf.Google Scholar
Sutton, Jonathan. (2018). Hun Sen’s consolidation of personal rule and the closure of political space in Cambodia. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 40(2), 173–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Un, Kheang. (2004). Democratization without consolidation: The case of Cambodia, 1993–2004. PhD dissertation, Department of Political Science, Northern Illinois University.Google Scholar
UN (United Nations). (2007). Economic Land Concessions in Cambodia: A Human Rights Perspective. Phnom Penh: Cambodia Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.Google Scholar
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). (2007). Land and human development in Cambodia. UNDP Discussion Paper No. 5.Google Scholar
Van Acker, Frank. (1999). Hitting a stone with an egg? Cambodia’s rural economy and land tenure transition. Centre for ASEAN Studies Discussion Paper No. 23.Google Scholar
Vinary, Vonn. (2000). “All Our Livelihoods Are Dead”: Landlessness and Aquatic Resources in Battambang Province. Oxfam Great Britain Land Study Project.Google Scholar
Williams, Shaun. (2000). Landownership Disputes in Cambodia: A Study of the Capacity of Five Provinces to Resolve Conflicts over Land. Oxfam Great Britain Land Study Project.Google Scholar
Work, Courtney and Beban, Alice. (2016). Mapping the Srok: The mimesis of land titling in Cambodia. Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 31(1), 37–80.Google Scholar
World Bank. (n.d.). Cambodia land management and administration project. Bank Information Center. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://bankinformationcenter.org/en-us/project/cambodia-land-management-and-administration-project/.Google Scholar
World Bank. (2000). Cambodia Governance and Corruption Diagnostic: Evidence from Citizen, Enterprise, and Public Official Surveys. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. (2014). Where Have All the Poor Gone? Cambodia Poverty Assessment 2013. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.0 A
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The HTML of this chapter
conforms to version 2.0 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), ensuring core accessibility principles are addressed and meets the basic
(A)
level of WCAG compliance, addressing essential accessibility barriers.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Full alternative textual descriptions
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
Structural and Technical Features
ARIA roles provided
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.