power

The history of Cambodia is essentially the history of the Khmer kings. Power can be very seductive and addictive; and for this reason, kings or people with power would not voluntarily relinquish what they had and they would use any means necessary to maintain their control for absolute power. Sometimes it was easier for the king to rule his country than his family. This was certainly true for Cambodia when the kings begat many children from their multiple wives and concubines, creating many possible successors in competition for his throne.

Building on established theory and data, Hanna Samir Kassab seeks to explain why weak states exist within the international system. Kassab analyzes weak state behavior and subsequent changes in great power grand strategy to argue that states which are weak and vulnerable can practice an unexpected degree of autonomy unfettered by great powers.