Studying Abroad in the Time of COVID-19: Adaptability and Patience

Vann Bunna is pursuing a master’s degree in Political Science at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, India. (Photo supplied)

ThmeyThmey’s Sao Phal Niseiy spoke with Vann Bunna who is pursuing a master’s degree in Political Science at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, India. Having been awarded with the Youth Role Model and Academic Excellence awards, Bunna graduated from the University of Cambodia with a degree in International Relations in 2018

Sao Phal Niseiy: You are pursuing a master’s degree in Political Science at a Public University in India under the Indian Government’s Scholarship Program, but why did you choose India for a political science course?

Vann Bunna: India is the land of ancient wisdom. To date, India has a highly qualified and internationally recognized education system. Through my personal experience working and interacting with Cambodians receiving education from India at both academic and governmental levels, I have observed they are really knowledgeable and competent in the field of their studies and expertise, especially political affairs. 

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Why Should You Study in India?

Having an opportunity to study abroad may be every student’s dream in their academic life. Frankly speaking, I am also the one among them who always dream to study abroad since I was a child. After my graduation of B.A. in International Relations from the University of Cambodia in late 2018, I decided to apply for Indian Government Scholarship 2019-2020 under Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Scholarship Scheme of India Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Luckily, I was awarded the scholarship to study a Master’s Degree in Political Science at Central Government University, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.  To study in India, some Cambodian students may hesitate to make a decision to apply. 

Article Review: “Does Democracy Cause Peace?”

Published by Annual Review of Political Science Journal on Volume 1, 1998, the article on “Does Democracy Cause Peace?”, James Lee Ray, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Political Science, Vanderbilt University, discussed on the proposition that democratic states are peaceful in their relations with each other and are less war-prone in general, the greater number of democratic states in the international system, the lower the incidence of war in that system.

Article Review: "Democracy and Armed Conflict"

The article on “Democracy and Armed Conflict” published by Journal of Peace Research, Havard Hegre, Professor at Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University spoke about the democracy and armed conflict relations, focusing on both conflicts internal to states and interstate conflicts.

Starting from the background of the democratic peace idea, Havard Hegre identified that idea of democracy rarely fight each other is origin from Immanuel Kant by citing his work: ‘The citizens of a (democratic) republic will hesitate before embarking on a war, for this mean calling down on themselves all the miseries of war.’

Article Review: Democratization, Elite Transition, Violence in Cambodia, 1991-1999

In the article “Democratization, Elite Transition, and Violence in Cambodia, 1991-1999”, published on 21 October 2010 in Critical Asian Studies, David Roberts spoke about the influence of the elite’s role in managing the transition of democratization in Cambodia from 1991 to 1999. He discussed reasons, and approaches that brought elites to reform or not reform away from personal interest and self-aggrandizement and lead to fairly represent the whole interest groups.