People of Virtue: Reconfiguring Religion, Power and Moral Order in Cambodia Today

Much attention has been given to the “killing fields” of Cambodia, far less to how the country can recover and heal itself after such an experience. Crucial to this process has been the formation of a new moral order in Cambodia and hence the revival of religion in the country. However, this process requires that the representatives of religion and of morality do have credibility and moral authority, something that may be called into question by their past and present involvement in hegemonic political and secular affairs.

The importance of this volume, therefore, is not only that it contributes to the new interest in religion in Cambodia but also because it places the religious revival in a nuanced social, cultural and political context and shows how Cambodia pursues order in large part through reference to her past.It also addresses major questions of interest to a global audience. These include such topics as how a community may be repaired after violent conflict, how religion and politics are interwoven and how moral order and historical change impact upon one another.

• David P. Chandler, Editor

• Alexandra Kent, Editor

  Alexandra Kent is an associate professor in social anthropology at the University of Gothenburg. She has explored the relationship between religion, politics, gender, healing and security in India, Malaysia and Cambodia, her most recent research being on Cambodians’ understandings of justice in the aftermath of conflict.