SS: In this article, Ivan Franceschini provides a compelling analysis of Sihanoukville’s rapid transformation from a tranquil Cambodian coastal town into a hub of cybercrime and human trafficking. Employing a historical perspective, he traces the city’s evolution from its founding in the 1950s through its idyllic days known for low-end tourism, to the massive influx of Chinese investment in the 2010s, aspiring to become the “new Macau” through booming online gambling and construction projects. Franceschini organizes the text chronologically, using vivid personal anecdotes and detailed accounts of socio-economic changes to illustrate how lax law enforcement and local complicity facilitated unchecked development.
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SS: In this article, Ivan Franceschini provides a compelling analysis of Sihanoukville’s rapid transformation from a tranquil Cambodian coastal town into a hub of cybercrime and human trafficking. Employing a historical perspective, he traces the city’s evolution from its founding in the 1950s through its idyllic days known for low-end tourism, to the massive influx of Chinese investment in the 2010s, aspiring to become the “new Macau” through booming online gambling and construction projects. Franceschini organizes the text chronologically, using vivid personal anecdotes and detailed accounts of socio-economic changes to illustrate how lax law enforcement and local complicity facilitated unchecked development.