1975 – 1979 · Khmer Rouge vs Cambodia
Cambodia's Khmer Rouge killed 1.7 million people—one-quarter of the population—in a four-year social experiment gone genocidal.
After seizing power in 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge emptied cities, executed intellectuals, and forced peasants into labor camps. The regime's goal: return Cambodia to 'Year Zero.' Urban dwellers, teachers, and ethnic minorities (especially Vietnamese and Chinese) were systematically murdered. Starvation and disease accompanied executions. Vietnam invaded in 1979, overthrowing the regime but leaving behind a traumatized nation. Survivor estimates range from 1.7 to 2 million deaths. The Khmer Rouge Tribunal, established in 2001, only convicted leaders decades later.
The Khmer Rouge genocide advanced international law on genocide prosecution and showed how nationalist ideology fused with Maoism can create mass atrocity. It triggered Vietnam's regional dominance for decades. Cambodian trauma, migration diasporas, and delayed justice (convictions in the 2000s-2020s) shaped modern discussions about transitional justice and historical closure in Southeast Asia.
Redirecting…