RSIS Webinar by Dr Kilian Spandler

ASEAN member states have invested substantially in cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Despite broad support for the idea of ‘localizing’ humanitarian action, the emergence of regional mechanisms has in practice led to uncertainty and frictions between different stakeholders. This webinar presents new research on the narratives through which established and new actors construct and contest ASEAN’s role in Southeast Asian disaster relief. Strategic narratives are increasingly recognized as central mechanisms in the re-making of international order – both in the humanitarian field and beyond. Zooming in on the case of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre), the event offers insights into humanitarian action in Southeast as a deeply political arena where different conceptions of order are asserted, contested and negotiated.