Buddhist Identity and the 1973 Cambodian Buddhist Holy War.

The article offers an examination of the 1973 holy war in post-independence Cambodia fought between troops led by Theravada Buddhist General Lon Nol and those individuals who were considered the "thmil" or non-believers, a group largely comprised of Communist Khmer and Vietnamese troops. It discusses how the war was fueled by a militarized reading of the Buddhist dhamma and existence of long-held ethnic attitudes between the Khmers and the Vietnamese and it explores how Cambodia sought to find its identity after gaining independence.