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Thais head to the polls this weekend for the second time in three years. Although Thailand is rife with domestic political divisions, having gone through three prime ministers since 2023, another country will also play a role in the contest’s outcome—Cambodia, with which it has a long-running border dispute.

Both Thailand and Cambodia contributed to the escalation that led to border clashes last July. But the second round of fighting in December was more one-sided: Thai fighter jets struck targets more than 40 miles from the border in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province. Rights groups say Thai troops seized and razed Cambodian border villages. A fragile cease-fire has paused hostilities for now, but nationalist sentiment remains high on both sides

Thais head to the polls this weekend for the second time in three years. Although Thailand is rife with domestic political divisions, having gone through three prime ministers since 2023, another country will also play a role in the contest’s outcome—Cambodia, with which it has a long-running border dispute.

Both Thailand and Cambodia contributed to the escalation that led to border clashes last July. But the second round of fighting in December was more one-sided: Thai fighter jets struck targets more than 40 miles from the border in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province. Rights groups say Thai troops seized and razed Cambodian border villages. A fragile cease-fire has paused hostilities for now, but nationalist sentiment remains high on both sides

The fighting came against the backdrop of Thailand’s long-running domestic political turmoil, in which the Thai military has been a key player. With a national election on Feb. 8, the border conflict reignited Thai nationalism and pro-military sentiment when conservatives were in desperate need of a boost. They are now expected to prevail on Sunday—so much so that a cynic might wonder whether the Thai military intentionally escalated fighting for political purposes.

Following populist Thaksin Shinawatra’s meteoric rise to power in 2001, the Thai military overthrew first his government in 2006 and then his sister’s government in 2014, ushering in a period of military rule from 2014 to 2023. By the time of Thailand’s most........

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