AN ANALYSIS OF SISTER CITY PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN BANDUNG AND BRAUNSCHWEIG IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR (2010 – 2019)

Abstract

Sister City cooperation as a product of paradiplomacy has become a mainstream of diplomatic practices between states in order to further develop their relationship as well as the excellence of its cities and/or provinces. Indonesia has adapted this kind of practice in order to develop its regions/cities and open new opportunities by enabling the region to cooperate with foreign parties. The first Sister City cooperation in Indonesia as well as the oldest one is the cooperation between the city of Bandung and Braunschweig, Germany, where this collaboration has been going on since 1960 until now. This thesis will be focusing on analyzing the impacts of Sister City cooperation in the field of Education and Training sector and how it impacts the city government of Bandung. By using the theory of paradiplomacy as the main theory and soft power as well as complex interdependence in order to support the author’s argument. The methodology of doing this research will be using the qualitative method, where the author will gather the data through online literature research as well as the main data from Bandung Cooperation Section Office. The author has found that the Sister City cooperation between Bandung and Braunschweig has a significant impact on Bandung especially its programs where it is decreasing due to certain issues in the time period of 2010 – 2019. Overall, although Sister City’s collaboration between Bandung and Braunschweig has been going on for decades, there are several benefits that both cities have gained as well as challenges and problems.