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Shrinking Civil Space in Cambodia : Ngos Manoeuvring and Navigating Restrictions and Insecurities in the Cambodian

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Shrinking Civil Space in Cambodia : Ngos Manoeuvring and Navigating Restrictions and Insecurities in the Cambodian MSC INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES POLITICS & GOVERNANCE OF DEVELOPMENT COURSE CODE: SCD-80436 MSC THESIS Shrinking Civil Space in Cambodia NGOs manoeuvring and navigating restrictions and insecurities in the Cambodian pre-election landscape CHRISTINE FLEISCHER STUDENT NR: 920402241070 SUPERVISOR: DR. IR. GEMMA VAN DER HAAR 05.07.2019 ABSTRACT Shrinking civil space is a pressing global trend spreading over a wide range of countries. Yet in-depth research on how shrinking civil space affects NGOs in such highly insecure and repressive settings physically, organisationally and emotionally, and what response strategies they engage in, is limited. This research analyses how three national and international NGOs active in Cambodia dealt with the limitations and challenges surrounding shrinking civil space ahead of the 2018 national elections. These three organisations were studied during a three-month period of ethnographic fieldwork late 2017/early 2018, through participant observation, informal conversations, interviews, literature study and the study of grey literature. This research illustrates how the Cambodian government increasingly tends towards an authoritarian regime, characterised by a restrictive civil society landscape. NGOs were affected by classic tools of repression: physical harassment like intimidation and threats, criminalisation, administrative burdens, stigmatisation, and spaces of dialogue under pressure. These had considerable impact both directly and indirectly. Distrust, frustration and cynicism were frequent emotional reactions. A striking phenomenon was the pervasive culture of fear, created through occasional crackdowns in a setting of omnipresent insecurity, opaque political deterrence court cases, shut-down of independent media, rumours, and ambiguous legislation allowing arbitrary repression of adversaries. This culture of fear is a very effective tool to control and silence the majority of Cambodian civil society. It provokes widespread self- censorship both in expressions of critique as well as in cancelling possibly sensitive activities. The dominant response strategy was keeping low profile as tactical pullback, based on working in the shadows, transparency, and dissociation with ‘public enemies’. More outspoken, government-critical voices were present as well, particularly from one organisation. Additionally, NGOs engaged in shielding strategies, ranging from practical security measures to building good government relations and internal cohesion making the organisations more resistant. I argue that it is essential to understand the power of the culture of fear, ambiguity, and assumptions, for analysing NGOs’ reactions to shrinking civil space. Assumptions on the risks, danger and opportunities, yet also positionality of an organisation, including its direct environment, focus, long-term theory of change and objectives affect the choice of response. This thesis provides lessons on response strategies of NGOs carefully navigating insecurities when facing repression and risks in settings of shrinking civil space. It illustrates strategies of keeping low profile and introduces new concepts to gain in-depth understanding. Beyond, it offers a comprehensive framework for analysing NGO responses. Thereby, this paper strives to inspire the wider debate on how to approach the global of phenomenon of shrinking civil space from an NGO angle. Keywords: Cambodia, civil society, shrinking civil space, repression, NGOs, culture of fear, ambiguity, positionality, manoeuvring, response strategies PREFACE When arriving in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for my fieldwork in October 2017, I planned to carefully study a rural community network protecting the environmental resources they were living in and from. With focus on their relation to government agents they encountered during their patrol activities. However, during my 3-month fieldwork, I was not able to visit the area they lived in and observe them protecting their resources once. This was due to a tight political situation ahead of the June 2018 national election coming up. The related tense political landscape rendered visits to the natural resource area impossible, especially for foreigners. Not being able to visit my actual research field and only having six days where I could speak to community network members during workshop breaks in the capital, I decided to switch my research focus. I decided to refocus, and study exactly these conditions, restrictions, and developments that depicted the barrier to my original research focus: shrinking civil space ahead of the national elections. Through being around three NGOs, daily informal conversations, literature study and in-depth interviews, I gained diverse insights into how these NGOs were affected by shrinking civil space, as well as into their response strategies and ways of navigating restrictions and insecurities. I grew closer and closer to the staff members and learnt what the political changes meant for their work as well as personally. I was stunned by the powerful tool of ambiguity and occasional crack-downs creating a culture of fear that often resulted in self-censorship – both verbally and activity-wise. And I experienced myself what it means to work in a highly insecure setting, having to base decision on how far I could go on assumptions about the possibilities and riskiness of the current situation. It was a very insightful, enriching experience rendered possible through the continuous support and openness of the NGOs I worked with. I am very grateful about this special opportunity. This thesis was then created over a longer period of time, following the three months of fieldwork in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, October 2017 till January 2018. Due to unexpected internship opportunities rising up in the following year, the writing extended. However, this also allowed me to follow recent developments and the subtle easing up of civil space after the national elections took place. This way I could see the shrinking civil space in Cambodia in a broader long-term perspective. I am now very proud to present you my final work: Shrinking Civil Space in Cambodia - NGOs manoeuvring and navigating restrictions and insecurities in the Cambodian pre-election landscape. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT There are a number of people that played a special role enabling my research, that I want to express my special thanks. Without them, my research would not have been possible. First of all, I thank Monique Nuijten for her great support and steady flexibility. She always had constructive comments and concrete useful questions at hand to help me refocus and find my path. It was a true pleasure having her as supervisor. I deeply appreciated her advice for whatever questions I would encounter, and encouragement when facing doubts. I feel very lucky for her straightforward support, down-to-earth, helpful and enhancing way. My thoughts have been with her a lot and I wish her all the best! I was just about to round up my fieldwork, when the bad news hit, and left me very concerned about who could provide me the same great support for writing my thesis. I was more than relieved when Gemma van der Haar was immediately ready to take over the supervision of my thesis with great flexibility and understanding. I very much appreciate her down-to-earth, hands-on support and great advice. She always took time to provide me critical yet excellent feedback, ask the right questions, and point out inconsistencies to improve my writing. Thanks a lot for everything! The person that most shaped my field research without doubt was Senior NGO staff* through all his input, sharing experiences, information and thoughts. As main informant, he was very open, welcoming, and hospitable, letting me not only stay up-to-date about current developments, but also giving me insights into the very human side of shrinking civil space between cynicism and frustration, with a great sense of humour. He became a great friend I don’t know how to thank for, who would pick me up every morning and made sure I had everything I needed. As inspiring leader, passionate activist and open witness of shrinking civil society, my research would not be the same without his input, special efforts, openness and rich insights. Thank you so much for everything! I am deeply grateful for all the support and welcome I received from the NGO staff. They were very kind, and despite the language challenges, always found a common language to communicate. Their passion for their mission inspired me. They always took time to explain me more, took me along to their activities, even to a wedding celebration of a colleague, and almost turned into a second family over my research period. The same applies for the staff members of the other organisations. They were always helpful, and tried their best to connect me to further organisations opening vital new doors for my research. I was impressed by their openness and honesty with which they shared their thoughts and doubts in the interviews and am very grateful for this. Beyond the circle of the NGOs, I am very grateful for the support I received from the two translators that supported me out during the interviews with community members, they helped me so much! I could have never gotten the same insights from the members, yet also their personal connection allowed them to greatly facilitate the interviews and connect with the respondents. I am very glad I met these two dedicated and motivated people, and was able to work with them. Thanks a lot! Next, I want to thank Ida Theilade who connected me to the organisations I worked together with in the very first place. Without her setting up the connection between my first supervisor and one of the NGOs, my whole research would not have been possible. She was always very supportive of my ideas, helpful, and it was great to eventually meet her in person. Last but not least, I want to thank my lovely flatmates during my research period, Reka and Caroline. They always had an open ear for me to share any questions, doubts, and challenges I was encountering. They supported me mentally in many ways, helped me think through, and see my research from a different perspective again.
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