‘Big Man rule’ taken to task by UN envoy

17 February 2014
The Phnom Penh Post
Government / International relations / System of government / United Nations
Cambodia National Rescue Party / CNRP / Maina Kiai / United Nations / Yim Sovann

UN special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly Maina Kiai, who visited Cambodia two weeks ago, has called on the Kingdom to embrace regular changes in leadership and to take lessons from Africa’s strongman-riddled history, in a column published in Kenya’s Daily Union newspaper on Friday. Arguing that so-called “Big Man rule” offers a false dichotomy between broader freedoms and faster economic growth, Kiai notes in the column that it is “tempting to wish for a benevolent Big Man who can order development fast”. ... Elaborating in an email yesterday, Kiai said that while development under a strongman may come quickly, it is often directly linked to his personality, and rarely survives him. What’s more, the system of patronage that keeps the Big Man in power “creates the opportune climate for corruption and human rights violations”. ...

 Stuart White
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/%E2%80%98big-man-rule%E2%80%99-taken-task-un-envoy