Following the Paris Peace
Agreement of 1991 and the UN administration until 1993, the 1990s have witnessed continued
internal tensions (both for elections and for continued military operations). With the fall of the
last pockets of Khmer Rouges in the late 1990s, the country has reached a steady-state with a
dominant party – the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), with Prime Minister Hun Sen in power
since the mid-1980s – winning all general elections, including the most recent in July 2008. The
political equilibrium is heavily influenced by the post-conflict situation, including its significant
centralization (to ensure control during difficult times) and patronage-client networks developed
for stability purposes. Importantly, CPP electoral successes seem to be increasingly linked to the
regime’s capacity to deliver economic development, and infrastructure in particular