To talk about ‘social cohesion’, we would first need to understand what it is. The term is not new and various stakeholders use it although the concept varies depending on the context. In UNDP, social cohesion is described along two dimensions: vertical and horizontal. The vertical dimension refers to cohesion between people and state institutions, and the horizontal dimension indicates cohesion among people- within and among groups. Strengthening social cohesion in both dimensions is vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  After the COVID-19 pandemic, social cohesion was identified as one of five pillars to build forward better. This is because a crisis like COVID-19 often exacerbates existing social, political, and economic tensions and impacts the social fabric. This is why social cohesion matters for resilience and future development in Cambodia. The concept of social cohesion is deeply embedded in social and historical contexts and evolves with its underlying norms. This is the reason why we started exploring what social cohesion means in Cambodia with our partner, the Future Forum, back in 2021.

Finding the right word in Khmer

Since social cohesion is closely related to the social and historical background of the country, the different Khmer translations used to refer to it were often inconclusive. The Future Forum proposed the Khmer translation ‘សាមគ្គីភាពសង្គម' or ‘sustainable peace’ to refer to the concept of ‘social cohesion’ based on discussions with experts and in-depth examination of background materials. This is because sustainable peace is often achieved through organically cohesive societies. This translation highlights that ‘there should be no dominant group enforcing a perception of social cohesion’ and considers inclusion and diversity as central.

Cambodia achieved high economic growth over the last two decades and has progressively healed from the collective trauma and the devastation experienced under the Khmer Rouge regime. It also managed a swift recovery from the recent pandemic. Capitalizing on such achievements with almost two-thirds of the population under the age of 30, the future human development and prosperity in Cambodia will be centered around building trust between people and state institutions and among the diverse groups in the Cambodian society.

Four different dimensions

Social cohesion in Cambodia has four dimensions: trust, belonging, inclusion and security. These were further delineated into 11 sub-dimensions with emphasis on-their inter-connectiveness (Figure 1). This contextualization, shows that for strengthening vertical trust between people and state institutions, all aspects of economic, political, and social inclusion do matter. The horizontal trust within the community depends on the sense of belonging, tolerance and respect for diversity. This implies multiple pathways which are mutually reinforcing for strengthening social cohesion. The full report can be acessed here.