Borders That Only Humans Draw: The War Between Thailand and Cambodia and What It Reveals About Us

A war is escalating in Southeast Asia. Again. Armed clashes between Thailand and Cambodia have left hundreds injured, dozens dead and tens of thousands displaced. It is a dispute over border lines. Over history. Over national honor.

For many, this conflict may seem far away. For me, it is close. I lived in Laos, started a family in Thailand and lived with them in Cambodia. I know the people – their warmth, their zest for life, their pain. And that is precisely why this war affects me deeply – not only personally, but also in my world view.

Having initiated the YEP Academy aiming in empowering youth through nature to peace and sustainability with focus on Southeast-Asia, I feel particularly affected these days. As an organisation active in Cambodia and Thailand, we feel no allegiance to any political nation, but to nature – and to the young generation we work with.

Our work is based on connection, not division. But now, like many others, we are faced with the reality of a human-made conflict based on division, mistrust and nationalism. And we say clearly: we will not allow ourselves to be exploited. We remain committed to our belief that young people, no matter what country they come from, long for peace, connection and a life in harmony with nature.

Not only weapons – words also kill

What is striking about this war is not only the military exchanges. It is the battle for interpretive sovereignty. The conflict rely on narratives, blame and fake news. It is about protecting what is "ours" and devaluing what is "foreign".

What is particularly fueling this process is a form of nationalism that seems deeply entrenched – in the media, in politics, in the collective psyche. A nationalism that pretends to be strength, but in reality means separation. A nationalism that alienates people from one another, sows mistrust and justifies violence. This attitude is nothing more than a collective form of egocentric self: a self that can only define itself through separation. And this is precisely where the real problem lies – not only in Southeast Asia, but worldwide.

For wherever old, patriarchal images of masculinity prevail, confusing strength with domination, conflicts are fought according to the same pattern: through separation, control and demonstrations of power. It is a worldview that is still embodied by too many men in power – out of fear of losing significance when others grow.

Why are we still waging war?

If we look honestly, the reasons for this war – like many others – are deeply human:

              •    Fear of losing power

              •    Envy of development

              •    Trauma from the past

              •    The need for control

              •    The belief that identity can only be secured through separation

These patterns are often deeply patriarchal. An old understanding of leadership that relies not on listening but on dominance. An ideal of masculinity that equates vulnerability with weakness and stages conflict as a platform for strength. But it is precisely these mechanisms that lead us down the same dead-end path time and time again. For no state, no people, no human being can find lasting peace if their self-image is based on separation. And no nationalism can secure peace in the long term – it always produces new conflicts.

How the ecological self comes into play here

In the 1980s, Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess proposed a concept that addresses precisely this point: the ecological self. It describes an attitude in which the self is understood not as an isolated entity, but as part of a larger network of relationships – with other people, with cultures, with the entire living world.

1. Pathologies of the separated self

The separate self—whether individual or collective—is prone to fear, projection, and violence. It sees danger everywhere because it does not feel connected. It believes it can only survive through superiority. This mindset demands separation, control, and dominance. But it is precisely this that destroys relationships—and ultimately, itself.

A war like this is an expression of a consciousness that has separated itself from living reality.

It is a consciousness that places nations above life, control above compassion, and power above connection. Nationalism, in its destructive form, is a logical consequence of this consciousness—but not a solution. It reinforces exactly what we need to overcome: separation, fear, and enemy stereotypes.

2. A narrow self-image as the cause of violence

Behind this pathology lies a narrow, egocentric self-image.

A self that defines itself solely through possessions, power and differentiation from others.

A self that does not see the development of others as an invitation to cooperate, but as a threat to its own position. This thinking breeds nationalism, competition, mistrust – and ultimately violence. Not because human beings are evil, but because they have forgotten that they are connected. In cultures. In landscapes. In the great web of life.

3. The ecological self as a counter-model

The ecological self offers a profound rethink. It reminds us that identity does not have to be based on separation – but on connection. That we are more than nationality or cultural background: we are relationships. A person, a people, a state that sees itself as part of a larger whole does not need violence to assert itself. Peace among others then becomes not a threat, but a shared hope. Foreignness is not feared, but valued as necessary diversity. Nature is not exploited – but recognized as a living co-world.

YEP Academy: We stand for something different

At YEP Academy, we see how young people from Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Nepal and other countries want exactly the opposite: They are looking for exchange, connection and meaning. They are looking for nature, silence and freedom. They want to learn what it means to be human in relation to the earth – not above it, not separate from it. We do not believe in nationalism. We believe in life.

And we believe in the younger generation – as a force that recognizes that a shared sense of identity is better than shared borders.

We believe in the younger generation – as a force that recognizes that a shared sense of identity is better than shared borders.

Conclusion

The war between Thailand and Cambodia is real, brutal and tragic. But it is also a mirror. It shows us how dangerous it is when people – or nations – base their identity on separation.

And it reminds us how urgently we need a new way of thinking. A way of thinking that does not stop at borders. A way of thinking that does not see us as enemies, but as part of a network of relationships. A way of thinking that recognizes: we are not separate. We are connected. Always.