The enduring agency of borderland regimes: the aftermath of serial regulations with different scopes and temporal scales at Preah Vihear, Cambodia

This research reveals that the legal and political regimes governing Preah Vihear, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Thai-Cambodian border, exhibit enduring agency despite temporal and spatial overlaps. The study finds that regulations from different historical periods—issued by colonial powers, national governments, or international bodies like the International Court of Justice and UNESCO—do not always terminate with the advent of new regimes but persist in a form of 'legal pluralism.' This persistence shapes current borderland dynamics, with some regulations temporarily suspending others while retaining influence. The research employs an anthropological and legal perspective to analyze these overlapping regimes, highlighting their hierarchical organization and long-lasting impacts on the region's governance and social memory.

Hauser-Schäublin, B., & Missling, S. (2014). The enduring agency of borderland regimes: the aftermath of serial regulations with different scopes and temporal scales at Preah Vihear, Cambodia. The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 46(1), 79–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2014.894849