Kampuchea's Armed Struggle: The Origins of an Independent Revolution by Stephen Heder, critically examines the historical trajectory of Kampuchea’s revolutionary movement, emphasizing its struggle for autonomy from Vietnamese influence. Heder traces the early communist movement’s subordination to Hanoi, detailing how the Khmer People’s Party (KPP) remained under the oversight of the Vietnamese Workers' Party. The study reveals how the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) emerged from this struggle, breaking away in the 1960s to chart its own revolutionary path. Through an analysis of armed resistance, internal purges, and ideological shifts, Heder highlights how Kampuchea’s revolution was shaped by both its fight against imperialist forces and its fraught relationship with regional socialist powers.