Local Resilience and the Reconstruction of Social Institutions: Recovery,Maintenance and Transformation of Buddhist Sangha in Post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia

ABSTRACT

This article explores how local resilience is realised in post-conflict reconstruction, by examining the redevelopment of Buddhist institutions in Cambodia. It firstly proposes three forms of resilience that were significant in the local level peacebuilding practice in the country – recovery, maintenance and transformation – and examines the process by which each form of resilience was materialised from the perspectives of local communities. Moreover, this study highlights two factors that determined the development of local resilience: ontological security and local leadership structure. Based on the empirical findings, this study discusses the conceptual and theoretical implications of such elements of resilient peacebuilding.