'Hun the Younger' rises as Paetongtarn falls

David Hutt is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) and Southeast Asia columnist at the Diplomat. He writes the Europe Meets Southeast Asia newsletter.

The ongoing Cambodia-Thai border disputes were billed by some as a clash of dynasties, albeit two dynasties that until recently considered themselves extended family. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter and niece of former premiers, was up against Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the eldest son of Cambodia's former premier, Hun Sen. Who knows at what point we are in the disputes -- the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning -- yet one side has so far proven far more unified, cunning and disciplined.