AH Challenge have Cambodia remain under the control of norodom Sihanouk

In otl Sinahouk was ruler of Cambodia just before Pol Pot and the Khemer Rouge, he had very great plans to modernize Cambodia and loved by the
masses, Have him remain in power leading to no rise of Khmer Rouge to power and Create a peaceful modern Cambodia, is it possible that is the challenge :)
 
Basically for this sequence of events to happen, there has to be no Vietnam War, or at least a more restrained U.S in said war...
The installation of General Lon Nol in a U.S backed military coup, as a result of Sihanouk's percieved "Communist Sympathies", by the U.S, & the carpet bombing of eastern Cambodia, most notablly near the Cambodia/South Vietnamese border, by the U.S, under the umbrella name Operation Menu were major factors in the rise of the Khemer Rouge...
 
In otl Sinahouk was ruler of Cambodia just before Pol Pot and the Khemer Rouge, he had very great plans to modernize Cambodia and loved by the
masses, Have him remain in power leading to no rise of Khmer Rouge to power and Create a peaceful modern Cambodia, is it possible that is the challenge :)

It's possible but Cambodia was horribly mishandled. Sihanouk was at least trying to maintain a balance between the different factions. Backing Lon Nol resulted in a government which lost all base support.
 
It is possible to have Sihanouk remain in power, but you are forced to change many facets of his personality. One of the reasons that he was overthrown in 1970 was because he had managed to antagonise the domestic elites, the military, and had managed to cause serious rifts with South Vietnam and Thailand. Both of these countries are geographically important to Cambodia.

Another option that you could pursue would be the creation of a constitutional monarchy, thus limiting his ability to antagonise - merely irritate. A far easier route would be for Prince Sisowath Monrieth to inherit the throne, a former Foreign Legion officer, very similar to Bao Dai's son or have another reformist Prince who died in 1946 survive.
 
And probably no where as nightmarish as the Khmer Rouge.

Then again, just about anything would be better than them.
 
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