The Concept of Third Space: <i>Win–Win</i> Solutions in the Borderland of Chanthaburi (Thailand) and Battambang–Pailin (Cambodia) Until the Military Clashes in 2025

ABSTRACT This article examines how the Thai–Cambodian border operates as a Third Space where legality, informality and cross‐border mobility intersect in complex ways. Rather than viewing borders as fixed territorial lines, this article conceptualises the borderland between Chanthaburi province in Thailand and Cambodia's Pailin and Battambang provinces as a hybrid zone with negotiated coexistence. Applying the notion of Third Space creates a threshold for achieving ‘ win–win ’ situations benefiting both state officers and border‐crossing peoples, as peace through employment and industry proves more sustainable than conflicts. While Cambodians gain employment opportunities, Thais expand their trade networks. This relationship demonstrates how Third Space governance transcends traditional border management. Based on the author's role as adviser to Thailand's Department of Provincial Administration (2023–2024), the research incorporates qualitative data from focus group discussions, field observations and continuous coordination team dialogue via online communication created in November 2023. However, after the Thai and Cambodian state experienced military clashes in May 2025, the conversation in the Line group ceased entirely. Nevertheless, these empirical insights revealed collaborative frameworks involving local authorities, healthcare units and business associations. Following the Thai Cabinet's November 2021 resolution and Article 64 of the Alien Workers Management Act (2017), Cambodians could work legally in Thailand's agricultural sector. This addresses labour shortages and reduces undocumented migration risks. Simultaneously, the border maintains surveillance functions against drug trafficking. This coexistence of facilitation and control exemplifies Third Space functioning, where conventional dichotomies of legality/illegality and openness/restriction are reconfigured. The post‐COVID‐19 border governance simultaneously facilitates legal economic exchange and enforces state control, creating mutual benefits where economic interdependence fosters stability. This article contributes to broader border studies debates, illuminating how hybrid governance structures sustain everyday borderland life whilst demonstrating that Third Space applications can generate collaborative prosperity rather than competitive tension between neighbouring states.