AUTOCRATIZATION IN THE TIME OF PANDEMICS: THE CASE OF CAMBODIA Manuscrito recibido: 31/08/2020 Aceptado: 01/03/2021

Abstract

COVID-19 governmental management has given place to the use of extraordinary powers under the state of emergency. So far, political science studies have addressed this issue by focusing on responses to the pandemic by different political regimes. Nevertheless, the pandemic effects on the type of regime have not been studied with the same level of interest. This investigation intends to describe how the pandemic can impact political regimes by analyzing the Cambodia case. It shows a regime that has deepened its autocratic profile in a progressive and constant manner, even during the pandemic. In this sense, this article has three objectives: to analyze the advantages and limitations of the concept of “autocratization”; to explain regime change in Cambodia since the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, and to determine the measure in which the pandemic has served as a pretext to further the autocratization process.