The United States and Cambodia, 1870-1969: From Curiosity to Confrontation

Spanning from the first US contacts with Cambodia in the nineteenth century up until the late 1960s and the outbreak of war with Vietnam, this book is the first to systematically explore American relations Cambodia. A discussion of adventurers, tourists and missionaries initially sets the secne for the analysis of official relations which began in 1950. The book traces how relations with Cambodia's king, Norodom Sihanouk, were often troubled as Sihanouk strove to keep his country out of the Cold War even when pressured by the US to join the battle against communism.Clymer concludes that although American policy could sometimes be surprisingly flexible, the Americans were never able to find a solution that would accomodate Sihanouk's needs with their own Cold war requirements in Southeast Asia. Ultimately the result was the breaking of diplomatic relations in 1965, a breach which lasted four years. The companion volume to this bookThe United States and Cambodia, 1969-2000discusses Americanrelations with Cambodia in the latter part of the twentieth century. Based on extensive archival research in the United States, Australia and Cambodia, this is the most comprehensive account of the United States' troubled relationship with Cambodia and will be of enormous interest to scholars in Southeast Asia, US diplomatic history and US foregin policy.

Kenton Clymer is Chair of the History Department at Northern Illinois University, USA.