History of Cambodia (1993–present)

After decades of conflict, Cambodia's current form of government began in 1993 with the restoration of the monarchy and end of the State of Cambodia and the United Nations Transitional Authority after general elections were held. Since 1993, the Cambodian People's Party have consistently been in government, and consolidated power in a 1997 coup d'état. Hun Sen was prime minister until transfer of power to his son, Hun Manet, in 2023.

After the fall of the Pol Pot regime of Democratic Kampuchea, Cambodia was under Vietnamese occupation and a pro-Hanoi government, the People's Republic of Kampuchea, was established. A civil war raged during the 1980s opposing the government's Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces against the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, a government in exile composed of three Cambodian political factions: Prince Norodom Sihanouk's FUNCINPEC party, the Party of Democratic Kampuchea (often referred to as the Khmer Rouge) and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF).

Peace efforts intensified in 1989 and 1991 with two international conferences in Paris, and a United Nations peacekeeping mission helped maintain a ceasefire. As a part of the peace effort, United Nations-sponsored elections were held in 1993 and helped restore some semblance of normality, as did the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. Norodom Sihanouk was reinstated as King. A coalition government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces in 1998.

Since the restoration of what is referred to as multi-party democracy in 1993, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has been in a coalition with the royalist Funcinpec party however the CPP has been the majority party following the 1997 Coup and purge against the FUNCINPEC. Hun Sen is the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia and is one of the longest serving prime ministers in the world, having been in power through various coalitions since 1985. He became sole Prime Minister on 30 November 1998 and would go on to lead the CPP to victory in the next three elections, but has been accused of poll fraud and corruption. He stepped down after five terms, with his son taking on the role of Prime Minister in 23 July 2023.

One of the world's longest-serving leaders, with a reputation as a 'wily operator who destroys his political opponents', Hun Sen is widely viewed as a dictator that has assumed authoritarian power in Cambodia using violence and intimidation and corruption to maintain his power base. Hun Sen has accumulated highly centralized power in Cambodia, including a 'praetorian guard that appears to rival the capabilities of the country's regular military units.'

From July 30 to August 30, 1989, representatives of 18 countries, the four Cambodian parties, and Secretary-General of the United Nations Javier Pérez de Cuéllar met in Paris in an effort to negotiate a comprehensive settlement. They hoped to achieve those objectives seen as crucial to the future of post-occupation Cambodia: a verified withdrawal of the remaining Vietnamese occupation troops and genuine self-determination for the Cambodian people.

On October 23, 1991, the Paris Conference convened to sign a comprehensive settlement giving the UN full authority to supervise a ceasefire, repatriate the displaced Khmer along the border with Thailand, disarm and demobilize the factional armies, and prepare the country for free and fair elections.

Prince Sihanouk, President of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), and other members of the SNC returned to Phnom Penh in November, 1991, to begin the resettlement process in Cambodia. The UN Advance Mission for Cambodia (UNAMIC) was deployed at the same time to maintain liaison among the factions and begin demining operations to expedite the repatriation of approximately 370,000 Cambodians from Thailand.