On Cambodia’s Parliamentary Diplomacy

Parliamentary diplomacy is an emerging concept for many developing countries.The practice of parliamentary diplomacy is well-known in the western hemisphere,where the European Parliament is the focal point.Nevertheless,little attention has been dedicated to other parliaments such as Cambodia’s parliament.In the hope to contribute to Cambodia’s literature on diplomacy study and the nation’s legislative body,this study chooses parliamentary diplomacy in Cambodia as the research subject.The study also serves as a foundation for Cambodia’s parliamentary diplomacy by exploring the parliamentary aim and goal of its diplomacy mission.Hence,this research study is divided into four main parts.Prior to the four main parts,the study has developed a theoretical framework as a guideline.The theoretical framework is represented in a production process starting with the country’s context,input,processes,and expected outcomes.The country’s context assesses the factors that contribute to the rise of parliamentary diplomacy in Cambodia and the significances of the political culture of the country.This serves as the very foundation for our study of Cambodia’s parliamentary diplomacy.Moreover,the input section reviews the constitutional arrangement and the intra-state parliamentary relations because these two factors shape the parliamentary behavior as they engage with foreign parliaments.The input is also a predetermined outcome of parliamentary diplomacy.It reflects the main purpose of pursuing relations with foreign parliaments or groups at the inter-state,the intra-regional,and the inter-regional level.Therefore,the final section of the production line is considered as an expected outcome.The expected outcome will be again matching with the findings of the study.Meanwhile,the processes section consists of the three main parts of the study:the inter-states,the intra-regional,and the inter-regional level.Each level of parliamentary diplomacy provides unique key findings.The first part focuses on intra-state parliamentary diplomacy.This part shows the relations between the parliamentarian,the parliament,and the political party.Since intra-state parliamentary diplomacy is mainly focusing on internal politics,the study chooses to examine the political culture and constitutional arrangement.By analyzing these two areas,it sets out a distinctive way of understanding Cambodia’s parliament,especially when it comes to external relations.It recognizes the importance of internal relations that can be thought of as a predetermined factor of parliamentary diplomacy beyond the border.Furthermore,the second part concentrates on the inter-state or the bilateral relations between Cambodia’s parliament and foreign parliaments.On the bilateral relations within the parliamentary framework,Cambodia’s parliament mostly communicates with its neighboring parliaments.Meanwhile,parliamentary relations with foreign parliaments other than the bordering states are relatively few.For this reason,the parliamentary relations at this level with the nearby parliaments consist of three critical components:politics,security,and socio-economic development.These components define the role of parliamentary diplomacy in Cambodia as a more complement to the executive.Moreover,the third part analyzes on the intra-regional level of parliamentary diplomacy.The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly plays a prominent role for Cambodia and the ASEAN as a whole.It strengthens the relations among all national parliaments in the ASEAN community by fostering an environment for mutual understand and respect.In connection to the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly,the intra-regional level consists of another inter-parliamentary organizations:the Asia Parliamentary Assembly.This inter-parliamentary organization serves as an extension for Cambodia’s parliament to reach out beyond the ASEAN.Finally,the fourth part examines inter-regional parliamentary relations.This shows the relations between Cambodia’s parliament toward the other groups beyond Asia.The parliamentary relations in this level are comprised of three parliamentary organizations:the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary forum,the Inter-Parliamentary Union,and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership.These three organizations hold significant relations with Cambodia’s parliament.The Inter-Parliamentary Union is one of the oldest and largest parliamentary organizations,whereas Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership is the only formal channel that connects Cambodia’s parliament to the national parliaments in Europe.As a consequence,it is imperative for Cambodia’s parliament to extend the relations with these organizations.Although the parliamentary behavior at the intra-regional and the inter-regional level is strongly affected by domestic factors,Cambodia’s parliament has to respect and follow the guideline and procedures of each level,which provides different pictures and implications.On that account,the parliamentary diplomacy is seen as a talking shop on the outside,but their true essence remains inside each of the meeting.