Question

Why were the Khmer Rouge unable to gain power and support during Sihanouk reign? Why does Sihanouk eventually tie himself to the Khmer Rouge?

Answer 1

But this only further unsettled his country and led to a coup that ousted him the next year. Convinced that the United States had been behind the overthrow, King Sihanouk allied himself with the Khmer Rouge at the urging of his Chinese patrons, giving the Cambodian Communists his prestige and enormous popularity.