A MODEL OF DISASTER DIPLOMACY: A CASE STUDY OF SINGAPORE COOPERATION PROGRAM IN THE POST TSUNAMI ACEH (2008-2012)

Abstract

Disaster diplomacy has become a significant issue when a country is trapped in a conflict and big disaster condition. An international partnership between some countries will be able to prevent the conflict itself as well as overcome the disaster effect. This partnership aims to improve the welfare of the people or even just to strengthen a relation between the countries. By forming a partnership, it is expected to uphold international peace and promotes the interests of the people of each country. Disaster diplomacy is a cooperation that formed by some countries that had faced disaster, such as Tsunami happened in Aceh, 2004. The Tsunami that hit Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Kenya and Somalia on 26th December 2004 had shown that natural disaster created challenges and opportunities of political and diplomatic diplomacy disaster relief (called as tsunami diplomacy). The role of cooperation is expected to assist the local government or a state realizing the welfare for its people. The cooperation that based on the background of Tsunami is aimed to re stabilize Aceh government to be better, instead of to refresh about some knowledges about world issues that happened on government apparatus. It is obviously very important; given the quality of which is owned by local government officials is less compared was minimum compared with central government. The roles of cooperation and assistance also have great impact to the structure of local government which is ready to be placed in international position. This method uses was a qualitative analysis of interviews and primary data analysis directly from the local government and its secondary data from the books. In this study, the Singapore Cooperation Programme is one of the variables used as a case study and main focus in achieving a good governance after the Tsunami in 2004. Keywords: Disaster Diplomacy, Background Cooperation, Government of Aceh.