Tracing and analyzing the ideas behind disaster volunteerism – a case study of Indonesia
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Veronica Strandh
Department of Political Science, Umeå University Sweden
veronica.strandh@umu.se
Author(s):
Disaster volunteerism is a phenomenon with mostly positive connotations; people from all walks of life can contribute to disaster management in various ways and volunteers and community members are sometimes even portrayed as the “true first responders. Although the role of and the contribution of volunteerism is well recognized among disaster scholars, discussions about the ideas underpinning this phenomenon is largely missing. On what ideational premises rest the assumed importance of voluntary actions? Is there an ideational roadmap?
Embarking on previous research on disaster management, and adding the literature grounded in humanitarian and development studies, this study uses an ideational analysis lens (Vedung 2018) and seeks to identify, describe and interpret key disaster management actors’ “ideational road map” of disaster volunteerism in Indonesia. More specifically, it will i) analyze their ideas about the distinctive contributions of disaster volunteerism ii) analyze their predictions about how volunteerism can be strengthened ii) trace and picture ideational changes over time.
The empirical material builds on the authors’ field studies in Indonesia. 21 interviews and five field visits were conducted in Jakarta, Bogor and Yogyakarta in 2017, 2019 and 2021. In total, interview data builds on the accounts of 50 respondents representing key actors in Indonesian disaster management, including Indonesian Red Cross, World Vision, Indonesian Society for Disaster Management, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), World Bank, Ministry of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Forum, the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) RUJAK Center for Urban Studies, and Muhammaddiyah Disaster Management Center.
Theoretically, this study positions disaster volunteerism in (or between) two analytical paradigms of humanitarian action: the classical humanitarianism paradigm and the more recent resilience paradigm.
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