"State failure and dilemma of security cooperation among neighbouring countries in the Global South" - by CWP alum Enze Han

This paper argues that security cooperation among neighbouring countries in the Global South is often hampered by domestic instability and fragmented territorial control resulting from state failures. Geographical proximity, characterised by porous borders and high levels of cross-border human mobility, directly impacts the security of neighbouring states. This creates a dilemma for security cooperation when one state lacks the capacity for effective governance. Empirically, the paper examines the evolution of Thailand’s security relations with Myanmar over recent decades, highlighting the profound impact of Myanmar’s political instability on Thailand. It analyses how the 2021 military coup and the subsequent collapse of Myanmar’s domestic political order have shaped Thailand’s securitisation of non-traditional security threats. By focusing on issues such as irregular migration, public health issues, drug trafficking, and transboundary pollution, the paper explores how these challenges have been securitised in Thailand and how they have complicated security cooperation between the two countries. The paper contends that the limited territorial control and legitimacy of Myanmar’s military government have significantly hindered Thailand’s ability to address its security concerns effectively. It further calls for security cooperation in the Global South beyond the conventional state-to-state level.

"State failure and dilemma of security cooperation among neighbouring countries in the Global South: Evidence from Myanmar and Thailand" - Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2025 Enze Han and Sirada Khemanitthathai

Professor Enze Han is Associate Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration. His research interests include international relations of East Asia, China’s relations with Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian politics, and ethnic politics in China. Professor Han received a Ph.D in Political Science from the George Washington University in the United States in 2010. Afterwards he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the China and the World Program at Princeton University. During 2015-2016, he was a Friends Founders’ Circle Member of the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, USA. In 2017, he was a fellow at the East Asia Institute in Seoul, South Korea. During 2021-2022, he was Lee Kong Chian Fellow on Contemporary Southeast Asia at the National University of Singapore and Stanford University. His research has been supported by the Leverhulme Research Fellowship and British Council/Newton Fund. Prior to HKU, Professor Han was Senior Lecturer in the International Security of East Asia at SOAS, University of London, United Kingdom.

Photo Credit: By VOA Burmese - [1], [2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99813783