Following the closely contested 2013 national election, the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) adjusted government policies in response to public criticism and opposition demands, including increasing wages for garment workers and raising salaries for civil servants, in an effort to rebuild popular support. At the same time, however, Cambodia witnessed a sharp rise in the arrest and imprisonment of activists, opposition figures, and ordinary citizens on charges of "incitement." Existing scholarship largely explains the CPP's use of repression through its historical reliance on coercion and political violence to shape society and suppress opposition. The concept of "incitement" is generally understood as involving the provocation of violence or public disorder. Yet, incitement cases in Cambodia have rarely, if ever, resulted in violence or public disorder. This paper asks why and how the ruling CPP has increasingly relied on "incitement" charges since 2013. Drawing on analytical evidence, it argues that the deployment of "incitement" charges represents an attempt to conceal the regime's political weaknesses. The paper examines three case studies: the arrests of journalists, activists, opposition figures on cases of online scam, the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Areas, and the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.
