The Urgency of Reorganizing Disaster Management Institutions in Indonesia

Abstract

A disaster management institutional system is always related to three main issues: power, justice, and legitimacy. In Indonesia, the main problems in disaster management institutions are: first, many institutions are directly involved and even act as leading actors, but do not cooperate; and second, because there are too many institutions involved, coordination problems arise among them. These issues have resulted in disaster management becoming fragmented and ineffective. To address this gap, this article introduces a structured analytical framework that classifies three alternative disaster management institutional arrangements – single-agency system, multi-agency system, and collaborative crisis management. This article advances the discourse by offering a normative and comparative legal analysis that has not been comprehensively applied in the Indonesian context. It analyzes the comparison of institutional systems in the United States and China to develop a new institutional perspective, providing actionable pathways for legal and organizational reform. This article argues that the historical involvement of numerous institutions shapes the dynamics of inter- institutional relations, leading to overlapping authority and heightened sectoral ego, thereby making coordination increasingly challenging. Therefore, this article provides a normative framework that serves as a foundation for enhancing coordination, strengthening institutional legitimacy, and improving the overall effectiveness of disaster management in Indonesia.