Centre for Governance and Inclusive Society
The Centre for Governance and Inclusive Society (CGIS) examines emerging policy questions confronting policymakers with evidence and knowledge to build inclusive society and responsive governance in a rapidly changing context. The centre analyzes current and contemporary policy processes and challenges related to civic engagement, local governance, decentralization, youth, leadership and new technologies. Our research also incorporates cross-cutting topics on climate change, technology and gender. In term of gender, we focus on: (i) the participation of women in institutions as decision-makers and public officials at the national and sub-national levels; (ii) the engagement of women as citizens with the government and its institutions and mediators; (iii) the capacity of the state to promote gender equality, and to mainstream gender within institutions, including through policy, programmes and budget arrangements; and (iv) the impact of the political and technological development on gender relations more broadly, including whether state responses enable or constrain gender equality.The research draws critically from the literature to formulate theoretically informed, policy-relevant research questions that would uncover, interrogate and explain Khmer conceptions and perspectives of key governance and emerging trends, thereby laying the groundwork for an indigenous Cambodian social science. In the current Research Strategy 2016-2021, the CGIS’s main research titles Ponlork: The Emergence of a New Era for Cambodia. Ponlork focuses on the impact of demographic change on politics and society in Cambodia.
Leadership Pathways for Local Women: Case Studies of Three Communes in Cambodia
Women’s leadership is necessary for Cambodia’s sustained development. Their involvement in leadership roles in the public sphere and politics is crucial and has been shown to impact positively on poverty reduction. Governments, NGOs and international organisations have been increasingly aware that sustainable development is significantly linked to gender equality and women’s empowerment, key fact...
The Enduring Gap: Decentralisation Reform and Youth Participation in Local Rural Governance
To understand the contribution of the decentralisation reform to youth participation in local rural governance, this paper reviews empirically how youth have utilised the participatory opportunities enabled by the decentralisation reform based on three themes: civic, political and electoral. The findings suggest that despite decentralisation having been implemented for more tha...
Impact of Decentralisation on Cambodia’s Urban Governance
Decentralisation has been pursued as a mechanism to strengthen local democracy and enhance service delivery within local government. There are high expectations that its promises can be realised through local citizens’ engagement in local decision-making processes that deal specifically with issues of local importance. Instituting local-level participatory processes empowers citizens and comm...
Gatekeepers in Local Politics: Political Parties in Cambodia and Their Gender Policy
Gender issues have become a part of mainstream Cambodian politics over the last decade, and gender-neutral electoral systems have been developed in cooperation between donors and government. Female representation has been achieved primarily through direct and indirect elections at different levels. And although Cambodia is a male-dominated culture in a patrimonial society, atte...
20 Years’ Strengthening of Cambodian Civil Society: Time for Reflection
In the 1980s and 1990s a large number of NGOs emerged in Cambodia, primarily in response to donors’ agendas on strengthening civil society to curb repressive developing country governments and support a broad democratisation process. Over the last 20 years, donor money has been concentrated on funding a small group of NGOs, mostly located in the country’s centre. While it is not argued that NGOs h...