Small State, Big Agency: Revisiting Cambodia’s Policy Toward China

Abstract This article examines Cambodia’s evolving policy toward China, challenging the perception that small states are merely passive in asymmetric relationships. It argues that Cambodia actively exercises agency by leveraging economic and strategic opportunities while navigating structural constraints. The article highlights two key stages in Cambodia’s China policy: the post-1997 coup and the post-2017 opposition party dissolution, each shaped by domestic political events and Western sanctions. By strengthening economic and security ties with China, Cambodia offsets external pressures and consolidates the regime’s legitimacy. However, Cambodia’s agency is not without limits since rising domestic concerns over dependence on China and external pressures from its immediate neighbors and Western countries continue to shape its strategic choices. By reassessing Cambodia’s foreign policy, this article contributes to broader debates on small state agency in international relations and Southeast Asia’s shifting geopolitical landscape.