Kheang Un Assistant Director Center for Southeast Asian Studies kun1@niu.edu

Personal Statement

My interest in Southeast Asia in general, and in Cambodia in particular, appears more natural than many of my colleagues’ for a number of reasons.  First, I was born and raised in Cambodia and I now hold dual citizenship in the United States and Cambodia.  Having lived through the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge and subsequent authoritarian regimes, I often pondered what the causes of Cambodia’s tragedy were.  I thought that the answer could be found within the discipline of political science.  When the country opened up, after over twenty years of isolation from the outside world, I received a grant from the Social Science Research Council and a work-study scholarship from Berea College, in Berea, Kentucky, to pursue undergraduate studies in political science.  I then transferred to the University of Hawaii where I was a Graduate fellow at the East West Center.  Although the University of Hawaii has a Center for Southeast Studies, I chose to move to Northern Illinois University where I completed my master and doctoral degrees in political science with a concentration in Southeast Asian Studies.  Even though I am based in the United States, I regularly travel to Cambodia to conduct research and consult for multilateral institutions and, I must mention, to enjoy the delightful Khmer cuisine, tropical fruits, and beautiful temples and countryside. 

Research Interests

My research interests are in democratization, human rights, and non-governmental organizations.  I have done research and published on issues of democracy building in post-conflict society using Cambodia as a case study.  I examine how existing social, cultural, political, and economic conditions affect the process of democratization.  I also feel driven to help educate young Cambodians in order to create a new generation of scholars to replace those who were killed by the radical anti-intellectual Khmer Rouge regime.  To achieve this goal, I have set up the Cambodia/USA Scholarship Fund to raise money to sponsor Cambodian students to study at NIU.

Teaching Interests

I teach the following courses:

Pols 260: Foreign and Comparative Politics

Pols 371: Politics in Southeast Asia

Pols 362: Politics and the Developing World

Pols 383: Changing World Political Economy