Hybrid Threats in the Thai–Cambodian Conflict: A Case Study on Emerging Risks and Cognitive Warfare Readiness

บทคัดย่อ

          The escalating prevalence of hybrid threats has fundamentally transformed contemporary conflict, shifting the strategic center of gravity from physical confrontation toward the cognitive domain — where perceptions and belief systems serve as primary targets. The 2025 Thailand–Cambodia conflict provides a critical empirical case, illustrating the multidimensional nature of these threats through coordinated disinformation campaigns and intensified cyber activities integrated with conventional military clashes. This study pursues three objectives: to identify and categorize the hybrid threat instruments employed during the conflict; to evaluate the escalation mechanisms through which hybrid warfare transitions into the cognitive domain; and to propose a strategic framework for national cognitive warfare readiness.

          Adopting a qualitative approach, the research employs content analysis of secondary data collected between May and December 2025. Findings indicate that Cambodia's strategy integrated multi-domain non-kinetic operations — encompassing information, psychological, cyber, and influence operations — potentially supported by transnational criminal-state networks, to target cognitive mechanisms. While these activities shaped early international perceptions through narrative competition, they did not reach the full threshold of cognitive warfare due to insufficient long-term strategic integration. Thailand's response, conversely, was characterized by tactical reaction and fragmented communication in the early stages, revealing structural vulnerabilities in addressing sustained cognitive domain influence.

          This article contributes to the security literature by introducing a conceptual framework mapping the transition from hybrid warfare to cognitive warfare, identifying the convergence of information environment management and narrative competition — sustained through long-term operational continuity — as the primary drivers of cognitive escalation, ultimately enabling subconscious manipulation and strategic outcomes such as weakened adversary cohesion. To mitigate these risks, the study advances a citizen-centered resilience model integrating robust legal frameworks, Media Information Digital and Algorithm Literacy (MIDAL), systematic fact-checking, international cooperation, and preemptive strategic communication.