How it stopped:
In 1979, Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia and overthrew Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime. A former rebel, Heng Samrin is proclaimed President of Cambodia. Since Vietnam had been recently coined a "communist republic," with strong ties to the Soviet Union, Cambodia's new government was Socialist-esque. The regime had extreme difficulty in organizing reconstruction efforts, mainly become the Khmer Rouge had completely destroyed the economy and infrastructure. Although the Khmer Rouge escaped to west region of Cambodia and continued to fight VIetnamese forces, their political organization eventually crumbled. Later, in 1991, under a temporary coalition government, Buddhism and private land ownership were officially revived and a peace treaty was signed between the opposing groups. The country is now referred to as a constitutional monarchy, similar to the system in place before the overthrow of Prince Sihanouk in 1970.