For fifteen years, Prince Sihanouk and the Sangkum Reastr Niyum over-
shadowed Cambodian life. Because Sihanouk was removed from office
by his own National Assembly in 1970, it is convenient, but misleading,
to interpret this period in terms of his "decline," a process that few ob-
servers noted at the time. Nonetheless, by 1966, Sihanouk had reached a
turning point in his political career, and his grip on the political process
had begun to weaken, along with his self-confidence. These changes can
be linked to the intensification of the Vietnam War as well as to indige-
nous political factors. In any case, the Assembly elected in 1966, although
allegedly made up of loyal Sangkum members, was the first since 1951
whose members the prince had not handpicked himself. In 1970, this As-
sembly voted Sihanouk out of office.

Sihanouk's principal opponents in 1955, the Democrats, were driven
from politics before the 1958 elections took place. Sihanouk's vindictive-
ness toward this group is curious because by 1956, the party had virtu-
ally ceased to exist and nearly all its members had joined the Sangkum.
Nonetheless, in September 1957, claiming that the Democrats were en-
dangering his policies, Sihanouk summoned five leaders of the party to a
debate on the grounds of the royal palace in Phnom Penh. Large crowds
were assembled nearby, and the proceedings were broadcast over loud-
speakers. Intimidated by the crowds, the Democrats were unable to voice
any clear opinions, and after three hours of bullying by Sihanouk and his
associates, they were allowed to leave. On their way out of the palace en-
closure they were beaten by soldiers and police, and one of them was
hospitalized. Over the next few days, thirty or forty people suspected of
Democrat leanings were beaten in Phnom Penh, and before going over-

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