Cambodia Bac II Social Science cheat sheet

Angkor period (802–1431 CE): founded by Jayavarman II's consecration on Phnom Kulen in 802; capital later moved to Yasodharapura (Angkor) near the Tonle Sap.

Jayavarman VII (r. c. 1181–1218) built Angkor Thom, the Bayon, and Ta Prohm, and adopted Mahayana Buddhism; he is the last great builder-king of Angkor.

Suryavarman II (r. 1113–c. 1150) commissioned Angkor Wat, originally dedicated to Vishnu and later converted to Theravada Buddhist use.

Khmer Rouge period: 17 April 1975 fall of Phnom Penh to 7 January 1979 Vietnamese entry into Phnom Penh; the regime was led by Pol Pot (Saloth Sar).

Paris Peace Agreements signed 23 October 1991; UNTAC administered the 23–28 May 1993 elections; the 1993 Constitution restored the monarchy as a constitutional monarchy.

French protectorate signed 1863 by King Norodom; Cambodia gained independence on 9 November 1953 under Norodom Sihanouk.

Sihanouk was deposed in the 18 March 1970 coup led by Lon Nol and Sisowath Sirik Matak, establishing the Khmer Republic.

Funan (1st–6th c. CE) and Chenla are the earliest documented Khmer states; Funan's port Oc Eo was a major Indian Ocean trade node.

Decision rule: match each monument to its king - Angkor Wat/Suryavarman II, Bayon/Jayavarman VII, Preah Vihear primarily Suryavarman I and II.

Cambodia covers about 181,035 km²; it borders Thailand (west/northwest), Laos (north), and Vietnam (east/southeast), with 443 km of coastline on the Gulf of Thailand.

The Mekong enters from Laos at Stung Treng, flows south past Phnom Penh, and splits at the Quatre Bras (Chatomuk) into the Mekong and the Tonle Sap river.

The Tonle Sap lake expands roughly fivefold in the wet season as the Tonle Sap river reverses flow; the lake is Southeast Asia's largest freshwater body.

The Cardamom Mountains in the southwest and the Dangrek escarpment on the Thai border are the main uplands; Phnom Aural (1,813 m) is the highest peak.

Climate is tropical monsoon: southwest monsoon May–October brings rain; northeast monsoon November–April is the dry season.

Major provinces and capitals: Phnom Penh (capital), Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampong Cham, Kandal, Preah Sihanouk (Sihanoukville), Ratanakiri (Banlung).

Key crops and resources: rice (main crop and export), rubber, cassava, cashew, pepper (Kampot), fisheries on the Tonle Sap, and hydropower on the Mekong and its tributaries.

Decision rule: identify a province's region by river position - Tonle Sap basin provinces (Siem Reap, Battambang, Pursat, Kampong Chhnang) versus Mekong provinces (Kratie, Stung Treng, Kampong Cham).

The 1993 Constitution (amended 1999, 2005, 2014, 2018) declares Cambodia a constitutional monarchy with Buddhism as the state religion and the King as head of state who reigns but does not govern.

Separation of powers: executive (Prime Minister and Council of Ministers), legislature (bicameral Parliament: National Assembly and Senate), judiciary (courts and Constitutional Council).

Citizenship: Khmer nationality is acquired by descent, by birth in Cambodia to foreign parents who legally reside, or by naturalization; dual citizenship is permitted.

Fundamental rights in the Constitution include equality before the law, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and the right to vote at age 18.

Duties of citizens: obey the law, pay taxes, defend the nation, respect public property, and protect the environment and national heritage.

Decentralization: commune/sangkat councils are elected by direct universal suffrage for five-year terms; they manage local development budgets.

Moral education themes: respect for parents and teachers, honesty, non-violence, tolerance, gratitude (kataññu), and the Buddhist Five Precepts as a conduct guide.

Decision rule: when a question asks 'which institution…', map legislative = National Assembly/Senate, judicial review = Constitutional Council, executive = Council of Ministers.

Scarcity forces choice; opportunity cost is the value of the best alternative forgone when a choice is made.

Law of demand: price and quantity demanded move inversely (ceteris paribus); law of supply: price and quantity supplied move directly.

Market equilibrium occurs where the demand and supply curves intersect; a price ceiling below equilibrium creates shortage, a price floor above it creates surplus.

Elasticity: price elasticity of demand = % change in quantity demanded ÷ % change in price; demand is elastic when the value exceeds 1.

GDP measures the market value of final goods and services produced within a country in a period; real GDP is adjusted for inflation using a price index.

Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level; it is measured by the consumer price index and reduces the purchasing power of money.

Cambodia's economy: garment/footwear exports, tourism, construction and real estate, and agriculture are the four traditional growth pillars; the riel is managed by the National Bank of Cambodia.

Comparative advantage: a country gains from trade by specializing where its opportunity cost of production is lower than a trading partner's.

Decision rule: classify a policy as fiscal (government spending/taxation) versus monetary (money supply/interest rates set by the central bank).

Khmer is Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer family), non-tonal, and written left to right in an abugida derived from the Pallava/Indian script tradition.

Two consonant series exist - a-series (អសម្លេង) and o-series (អឃោស) - and the series of the initial consonant determines the vowel sound of the attached vowel sign.

Consonant classes: 33 consonants written in full form, plus subscript (coeng) forms that stack under or beside the preceding consonant to suppress the inherent vowel.

Sentence order is Subject–Verb–Object; adjectives follow the noun they modify; classifiers are used when counting nouns.

Key literary works: Reamker (Khmer Ramayana), Chbap Pros (proverbs/verse moral codes), Vorvong-Sorvong, Tum Teav, and the 19th-century novel Sophat by Rim Kin.

Poetic forms: kbach verse with rhyme schemes include Kaka, Padum, and Brahmakti; the Reamker is composed in various metrical forms.

Register: royal language (raja sap) uses special vocabulary for the king and monks; ordinary speech uses common terms - e.g., eating is 'sui' for laypeople but 'chan' for monks.

Decision rule: to determine a vowel's sound, first identify the initial consonant's series; the same vowel sign yields different sounds in a-series versus o-series.