From State Security to Human Security: Prioritizing Values in Thai-Cambodian Border Policy

Abstract

This article critically examines the value hierarchy underlying Thailand–Cambodia border policies, questioning the long-standing dominance of a state-centric security framework and advocating a shift toward a human security approach. Drawing on a review of existing literature and conceptual analysis in security studies, border studies, and human rights, the article explores how state-centered border policies affect people living in border areas. The analysis demonstrates that framing the border primarily as a space of state security has prioritized militarization, mobility control, and state-to-state relations as the core policy mechanisms, while marginalizing border communities and cross-border social relations. Such policies have led to border closures, the use of force, and the strict enforcement of security laws, resulting in significant impacts on local economies, everyday livelihoods, and the sense of security among border populations. Vulnerable groups, including migrant workers and ethnic communities, are particularly affected by these measures.The article further argues that these outcomes are rooted in structural constraints within the Thai state, notably a security culture that monopolizes the definition of security within military institutions and a centralized bureaucratic system that lacks flexibility in responding to the complex realities of border regions. These structural conditions limit the effective integration of human security principles into border governance. The article concludes that reordering policy priorities from state security to human security does not undermine state sovereignty; rather, it enhances sustainable security by centering human dignity, community participation, and human rights in policy-making processes. Thailand–Cambodia border areas should therefore be understood not merely as zones of territorial defense or political contestation, but as lived spaces of cooperation, human security, and long-term peace.