Cambodian crisis lays bare Thailand’s deep-rooted dysfunction

The long-standing warnings that Thailand is a nation plagued by systemic decay and teetering on the brink of collapse—if not already a failed state—have never rung truer than in the current “Cambodian crisis”.

This episode has exposed the entrenched fragilities of our institutions, especially the protracted political dysfunction at the core.

For years, observers have lamented that we’ve been living off “merit accrued in the past” without building any new merit. That reserve of merit is now all but depleted.

The General Border Committee (GBC) meeting this week will not bring closure to the crisis. Instead, this border dispute with Cambodia is likely to linger, simmering in the background and gnawing at public confidence for the foreseeable future.

But the worst outcome would be if we let the Cambodian crisis pass us by—reduced to cursing Cambodia or each other—without reflecting on how we arrived here. It is time to confront the hard truths: what went wrong, what we’ve neglected, and what reforms are urgently needed to preserve our nation’s dignity and sovereignty in an increasingly unforgiving world.

How must we reform and rebuild so that Thailand remains true to itself—and can stand with dignity on the world stage?

Let us not continue to let others say, mockingly, that Thailand has everything—fertile land, rich culture, mild climate, and strategic geography—but suffers one fatal flaw: it’s inhabited by Thais.

The problems that have become glaringly obvious—and which we must urgently address—are:

1. Political paralysis and a broken leadership pipeline

Thailand’s political system is beyond repair. The mechanisms for selecting people for high office are dysfunctional. Those who rise to leadership positions are often shockingly unqualified—lacking both competence and maturity. One is left wondering: is this really the best the country has to offer?

2. Leadership vacuum lays bare the failure of old politics 

The fact that we are in the middle of a national security crisis without a real prime minister or defence minister—and that no steps are being taken to address this vacuum—is alarming. A proper defence minister could have been appointed swiftly, but wasn’t. 

This glaring absence speaks volumes about the abnormal state of Thai politics. And it is impossible to explain to anyone why things have ended up this way.

The first two points clearly show that old-style politics can no longer lead the country forward. Any attempt to cling to power through outdated means will only push the nation towards even greater danger.

3 The myth of the “new generation” party

Those who position themselves as a new political alternative have yet to prove they can govern. They speak in polished soundbites, lean heavily on theory, and seem disinterested in learning the gritty realities of statecraft. 

Their oversimplified worldview—dividing issues into good and evil, right and wrong—and their disdain for older generations only traps them in ideological echo chambers.

This Cambodian crisis has served as a stark mirror, clearly revealing that many of your ideas are fundamentally flawed—and some should never have been conceived in the first place.

Beautiful rhetoric might win votes, but it does not solve real problems.

4. A hollowed-out military

The Thai armed forces haven’t seen real combat in decades. Instead, segments of the military are fixated on power games—some via formal mechanisms, others via backdoor manoeuvres. Then there’s the “cosmetic soldier” cohort: all polish and presence on social media, but untrained for actual battle.

While the military establishment chases headlines, budgets, and promotions, the true front-line soldiers are left to fight—both literal and figurative battles—alone and uncelebrated. The neglect is not unique to the Cambodian crisis; southern Thailand’s 21-year insurgency paints a similar picture.

5. The failure of border management

The Cambodian crisis has revealed the full extent of our failure to manage and protect our borders. We've lost significant territory through neglect, unclear policies, political compromises.

This is not limited to the Cambodian frontier—other border areas are riddled with unresolved issues. Worse still, there is no unified authority with the full mandate, clarity, or capacity to address them.

6. A communications disaster

Thailand’s communication apparatus has failed catastrophically. Despite having capable professionals, we lack a centralised, credible voice. Our public messaging is fragmented, inconsistent, and often counterproductive. This too stems from the broader political dysfunction ( in 1 and 2 problems).

7. Diplomatic decay

Thailand’s foreign affairs capability is alarmingly weak—despite the Foreign Ministry being filled with capable professionals. Many Thais are now questioning what has happened to our once-celebrated brand of “Thai diplomacy”, which in the past helped the country avoid becoming a war loser, preserve its sovereignty as the only nation in the region to do so, and defeat the spread of communism.

Today, however, we seem incapable of resolving even our own problems—let alone contributing meaningfully to global issues on the international stage.

A widely cited reason is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ severely limited budget and the government’s chronic underinvestment in diplomatic affairs.

8. A fading civic conscience

The decline in civic responsibility is stark. Requests for public cooperation—especially during crises—are routinely ignored. People flout rules for personal gain, even when national security is at stake.

A recent example: drone use during the Cambodian standoff has caused immense frustration for the military. Soldiers are already stretched thin, yet they must also contend with reckless civilians. It’s reminiscent of the early Covid years, when some Thais flaunted rules and acted with impunity—from street thugs to Cabinet ministers.

Pakorn Puengnetr