The Legacy of the ECCC

Abstract

Against the backdrop of theorizing the construction of legacies the focus here is on tracing the interest in legacy at the ECCC and in the Cambodian context in lieu of assessing or measuring the effectiveness of the Tribunal per se. To this end, the emphasis is placed on elucidating the role of the ECCC as temporary institution and legacy leaver and the developed legacy program. By contributing an innovative analysis, the chapter sheds light on the already ongoing legacy formation and the struggle over the power of interpretation. There was an early impetus to pursue legacy at the ECCC, which however got caught up in a political tussle about ownership of the narrative on legacy, and meaning making and funding, and eventually was largely abandoned as a result. The Tribunal appears to have hesitantly or ambiguously embraced its role as legacy leaver as legacy engagement has accelerated and decelerated in Cambodia over the past few years in light of the politicization of legacy. The contestation of meaning about legacy and what the ECCC could and should leave behind provides a window into the broader contestation and the normative significance of the construction of meaning in Cambodia.