WP 85: 20 Years’ Strengthening of Cambodian Civil Society: Time for Reflection

Author: Kim Sedara, Ou Sivhuoch - October , 2013

CDRI Working Paper Series No. 85.

English, 32 pp. Oct 2013 (Download)

This paper indicated that over the last 20 years in Cambodia, donor money was concentrated on funding a small group of NGOs, mostly located in the country’s centre. While it was not argued that NGOs have no influence, they had not demonstrated basic civil society features. However, more recently and with support from some NGOs and donors, some local organisations, especially saving groups, surfaced across the country, giving some optimism that while the donors had built national level civil society only to a limited degree, they had gradually triggered forms of genuine grassroots civil society energy.