ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to set the scene for the three empirical chapters that follow. It provides the historical-institutional context in which the institutionalisation of ASEAN disaster management took place. It introduces the evolution of the disaster management policy at national, global and regional levels, and it presents the EU as a relevant actor in this field and the cooperation between ASEAN and other partner’s countries to show why so many expectations were placed on the EU and its potential role in the institutionalisation of ASEAN disaster response. Indeed, the chapter shows how the EU and Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States could theoretically play a relevant role in this process as leader, reference, sponsor or implementer.
