RESMETH A53 Soriano, Virgilia Abaya, Mikhail Macasinag, Isabel

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

The Philippines location on the edge of the Pacific Ocean puts it in the prime position to receive many of the typhoons generated here. On average, around 20-25 typhoons enter the Philippines Area of Responsibility causing billions of pesos in damage all over the country each time one hits (Virola, 2008). Aside from its situation near the

Pacific Ocean, the Philippines severe overpopulation and skyrocketing population density in the urban lowland areas intensify the potential damage during a strong typhoon or downpour. Despite having numerous measures in place to mitigate such calamities, the Philippine government is still met with widespread food and medicine shortages, displaced families and thousands of individuals in need of emergency and long-term assistance. In order to help fill the needs of all who were affected by the typhoons, the United States extends aid to the

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Philippines through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID has been working hand in hand with the Philippines since 1961 when it was established as the primary agency to deliver economic aid and the Foreign Assistance Act was signed. Initially, its focus was to help the Philippines rebuild its war-torn urban areas and revive its industrial foundations. Gradually, it shifted its focus to developing household-level agricultural activities, social services and the overall physical and economic conditions in the rural areas. Following the political revolution that took place in 1986, USAID again revised its main goal to support democracy and the improvement of the private sector of the Philippines. As the Philippines began to pick up its economy, USAID followed up by creating buffers that ensured sustainable and equitable growth. Ever since its establishment, it can be inferred that USAID has closely patterned its operations with the most pressing needs of the Philippines. (United States Agency for International Development, 2006) USAID defines its primary objectives to include promoting broadly shared economic prosperity, strengthening democracy and good governance, protecting human rights, improving global health,

advancing food security and agriculture, improving environmental

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sustainability, further education, helping societies prevent and recover from conflicts and lastly, providing humanitarian assistance in the wake of natural and man-made disasters. (USAID, 2006) Each of these objectives is satisfied by individual sub-organizations under USAID. One such sub-organization is the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) which covers the last objective of providing assistance during natural or man-made disasters. This unit is responsible for providing non-food humanitarian assistance when international crises or calamities arise. The USAID/OFDAs operations are not limited to emergency response or relief. They are also engaged in recovery efforts where they provide tools and the necessary capital to restart the livelihood of those who lost their jobs and provide psychosocial care to traumatized survivors. (GlobalCorps, 2008) According to Drs. Dulce D.Elazegui and Linda M. Penalba (2011), two professors from the Public Affairs College of the University of the Philippines-Los Banos, after an analysis of 59-year data, the Philippines has seen increasingly stronger typhoons which has also prompted USAID to enact more disaster management programs . The increase in typhoon strength can also be inferred by the unfortunate frequency of massive, killer typhoons such as Typhoon Milenyo (2006), Typhoon Reming (2006), Typhoon Ondoy (2009), Typhoon Pepeng (2009).

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Hence, it follows that the Filipinos have been seeing more of USAIDs relief and recovery efforts each time a super typhoon hits the Philippine Area of Responsibility. Until recently, the United States has been the dominant power in Southeast Asia and maintained strong economic and security ties among several Southeast Asian nations (Coipuram Jr., 2008). However, Chinas charm offensive which involves the growing use of soft power, the phenomenon of decoupling which followed has slowly and the financial crisis in 2008 has slowly eroded US dominance in the region. Despite Chinas attempts at Soft Power in Southeast Asia, the United States influence in the region has remained strong. The United States role in providing disaster relief and financial support, which had amounted to $305 million, to countries affected by the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami has helped improve its image after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 (Coipuram Jr., 2008). In addition, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (2011) had announced a shift of US foreign policy attention from the Middle East towards Asia in what she termed as Americas Pacific Century. In her statement, Secretary Clinton had announced that the harnessing of Asias growth as vital to Americas economic and security interest and

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as such is a key issue of the Obama administration amidst the growing powers of states such as China, India, etc in the Asia-Pacific region. USAIDs increased role in the Philippines during recent calamities closely mirrors the increased presence of the US within the Asia Pacific region. Ever since the US Department of Defense released statements about the significant arms acquisition and modernization of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in 2005, as well as Chinas growing economic and industrial edge over the United States since the dawn of the 21st century, scholars have suggested that the US has been strategically strengthening ties with allies in the Asia Pacific region (De Castro, 2009). Although the generosity of countries like the US is widely known, one cannot divorce a states outward behavior from its pursuit of national interests. (Bergeron, 2011)

A. Problem Statement The study will analyze how soft power is incorporated into the response model employed by USAID in conducting relief and recovery efforts during major typhoons in the Philippines. Sub-questions: 1. What security model/paradigm does the US follow in setting priorities for relief efforts?

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2. What process model is used by USAID to respond to calamities in the Philippines? 3. What specific services and goods are made available? 4. What other relief and recovery efforts has the US conducted within the past 10 years? 5. What is the impact on the perceptions of the recipients of USAID assistance?

Objectives: Throughout the process of gathering information and formulating this study, the researchers will not only concern themselves with addressing the problems and questions immediately posed by the topic. After completing the research, the researchers also aim to have satisfied several objectives for a more applicable understanding of the topic. These objectives include: 1. To identify procedures and programs that USAID has in terms of relief and recovery efforts; 2. How have these relief and recovery procedures aided the Philippines during calamities?

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3.

To pinpoint weaknesses of Philippine Disaster Management Systems as indicated by the patterns in USAID relief and recovery efforts;

4.

To analyze the reasoning behind US extraterritorial relief

and recovery efforts.

Significance of the Study: This study discusses the role that the United States plays when it conducts calamity relief and recovery efforts in context to efforts conducted in the Philippines. The area of focus would be how these relief and recovery efforts have been used to expand the influence of American soft power in Asia. The researchers will also use John

Spykmans perspective of Rimland to explain the focus of the United States in assisting South East Asian neighbors as well as possible implications in terms of US soft power as the United States shifts its focus in Asia as part of the US Pacific Century strategy. Furthermore, this study can help provide useful data to students of American Studies, Political Science as well as those focusing on International Disaster and Emergency Management. It will delve into pertinent concepts such as international relations, as the U.S. interacts with the Philippines on the state level; power relations as the U.S. may

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or may not use the practice of providing assistance as a form of leverage over the Philippines; non-traditional security, as priority and strategy is devoted to saving individual lives from a non-traditional security threat; and lastly, various concepts in disaster management, as this study will attempt to outline a clear process model that wellestablished disaster response organizations such as the USAID/OFDA employs. This study could provide useful information that can be used as a basis for future American studies students who will be looking into the role that soft power plays as well those interested in undertaking disaster management. Finally, the methods conducted by the researchers also

contribute to its significance. The researchers conducted face to face interviews with various experts and officials related to the topic. An analysis of documents pertaining to procedures of USAID efforts in the Philippines has been done. Lastly, the researchers used documents and statistics sourced from government websites in reviewing local agencies efforts in dealing with calamities.

Scope and Limitations The scope of this study is focused on the role of USAID and the procedural model it employs when conducting disaster relief efforts in

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the Philippines. It includes an overview of USAIDs disaster relief programs, its procedures and objectives of such programs in the Philippines. In addition, the study will also specifically focus on impact that USAID has in assisting agencies associated with the Philippine Disaster Management system. The researchers will use various methods in gathering and validating the data. For documentary research, most research will be sourced from online official documents from both USAID as well as various local government units. The researchers had also sought to conduct interviews of officials involved in the actual implementation of USAID programs as well as interviews of beneficiaries in order to expand and compliment the document information. There will be limitations set for this study as it does not aim to address the technical aspects of the disaster management system. Due to the limited access of both Philippine and US government documents, the researchers shall utilize documents and scholarly sources from both accredited internet sources and libraries. Moreover, this study will only look at USAIDs disaster relief and recovery programs and the employment of soft power by the United States in the Philippines, as the focal point of the of the mentioned relief efforts. This was decided so that the study would be able to

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maximize its potential with a narrower focus. This is due to the constraints in the limited time span to do the study as well as access to data and impediments caused by geography. These are some of the restrictions which the researchers have found and thus are the causes of limited data gathered by the researchers of this study.

Definition of Terms 1.)USAID The United States Agency for International Development under the Secretary of State is responsible for assisting developing countries for their needs as a sovereign state and help out during disasters (USAID, 2012). 2.)U.S. Pacific Century Strategy The Pacific Century Strategy is focused on reducing Americas attention and efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and instead focuses more in Asia Pacific. It is about the increase of U.S. investment in the region in efforts to sustain their leadership and to address the needs of the people in Asia Pacific as well (Clinton, 2011). 3.)Soft Power

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Soft

power

is

to

persuade

others

without

using

military

equipment or threats. It is a way of influencing others to agree with your own interests without coercion. 4.)Human Security Human security is focused of the protection of individuals. It secures the mutual needs every person has. 5.)Philippines Area of Responsibility The Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) is the area where the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is tasked to monitor for tropical cyclone occurrences. (Pagasa) 6.)Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance is a branch of the USAID responsible for providing non-food humanitarian

assistance in response to international crises and disasters. It has 3 divisions, the Disaster Response and Mitigation (DRM), the Operations Division (OPS), and the Program Support division (PS) (Natsios, 1997).

7.)Recovery

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The process, by which all infrastructures damaged during the calamity are rebuilt, repaired and returned to normal functional condition. (Coppola, 2011) 8.)Geostrategy The exercise of power over particularly critical spaces on the Earths surface; about crafting a political presence over the international system. It is aimed at enhancing ones security and prosperity; about making the international system more

prosperous; about shaping rather than being shaped. (Rogers & Simn, 2010)

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A.

Impact of USAID and other similar INGOs in the Pacific Looking at the Southeast Asian region, an important aspect of

looking at relief and recovery operations would be to look into the relationship between governmental organizations such as USAID and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and their

impacts to providing humanitarian assistance to countries in the region.

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The book U.S. Foreign Policy and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Andrew Natsios (1997) stated that the relationship between the U.S government and NGOs began at the start of World War II with NGOs having a major contribution and role in providing humanitarian relief efforts in the war torn areas. Natsios goes on to state how NGOs help in the formulation of U.S. foreign policy via providing an alternate source of information to the US government in cases of emergencies, influence US policy via its programs, influence the heads of the decision-making process through advocacy efforts and via educating the general public and financial contributions. The book contains a historical look into the close relationship of NGOs their relationship with the US government and the trending phenomenon of internationalization of NGOs and their corresponding activities wherein it has brought some confusion and tension between local branches of NGOs and policies which the US government enacts when facing with humanitarian crises. Finally, the material also goes on to provide important context on two major players in international humanitarian relief efforts which are the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The US has increasingly relied on the UN in helping deal with various humanitarian crises (Natsios, 1997). Relief operations in
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complex humanitarian crises are mentioned as one of the critical functions of the UN. As such, the UN performs the following functions during a humanitarian crisis: needs assessment, obtaining resources from donor nations, compiling situation reports, operational

coordination and planning, and supervising relief assistance to affected populations. Lastly, the ICRC is stated to be the premiere organization responsible for conducting relief operations during crises. The ICRC is also the only non-UN organization which has mandates under international law in regards to humanitarian emergencies (Natsios, 1997). While Natsios book offers plenty of insight into the various organizations both governmental and non-governmental, it only presents them in a historical context. Both the UN and ICRC were involved in recent calamity relief operations in Southeast Asia and more specifically the Philippines. In the report titled Emergency appeal operation update Philippines: Tropical Storm Washi, the summary of the local chapter of the ICRC, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) operations in the immediate aftermath of typhoon Washi as well as recovery operations which had occurred following the destruction of the typhoon. The report details PRC as one of the first agencies on the ground in order to provide immediate relief to typhoon stricken victims. The International Foundation of the Red
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Cross (IFRC) had deployed regional disaster response teams (RDRT) composed of a multinational group of volunteers to further assist the PRC in the relief efforts. The report also includes recovery efforts such as the distribution of food aid which had amounted to 30,000 parcels for families affected by the calamity which was done in two phases (IFRC, 2012). The PRC had also conducted basic health education to affected families in order to inform the victims of the various health risks. Furthermore, a similar report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) entitled Philippines: Tropical Storm Washi, details operations carried out by UN

organizations such as the World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF in providing relief and recovery operations in the wake of Tropical Storm Washi. The report pinpoints several areas where the UN organizations had assisted the Philippine government such as provision of shelters, water, sanitation and hygiene, food security, etc. This shows the UNs involvement in assisting the local and national government units of the Philippines in helping to mitigate and provide relief and recovery operations to the victims of calamities.

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B.

Prelude to Americas Pacific Century The prelude to Americas Pacific Century started during the

decade of the 1990s. This decade saw the end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Union and entrance of the world into a unipolar system with the United States as the sole superpower. The decade had also seen the beginnings of regional powers, specifically in Asia such as China and India and the countries use of soft power to expand its influence in the region (Dalpino, 2008). In the academic paper titled Chinas Charm Offensive in Southeast Asia, John Kurlantzick states that Southeast Asia, with its sea trade networks, historical allies and a growing multilateral cooperation via the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has helped in keeping the United States interest and influence in the region. During the 1990s, coupled with the collapse of communism and relative peace in the region, US influence in the region had seen a period declined. It was not until the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998 wherein the United States reaction was limited only through the International Monetary Fund, had caused a loss of confidence in ASEAN nations as they viewed the actions of the United States and passable and not permanent (Dalpino, 2008). The minimal role of the United States

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thus worked to Chinas advantage as it implemented its Charm Offensive across the sub region. This material provides valuable

background into the status of US soft power influence in the Southeast Asia and the challenges posed by rival powers such as China in eroding the influence of the US in the subregion prior to the declaration of the Pacific Century by Secretary Clinton in 2011. Since 1997 and on through the early 2000s China had made great gains in utilizing its soft power strategy of win-win in Southeast Asia which for the mutual benefit of both the economies of China and their partner due to the refusal of China devaluing their currency and collapse of several Asian economies. China had also capitalized on degrading relations of traditional US allies in region such as the case of the Philippines decision to pull out its contingent of troops from Iraq in 2004 where in the United States had cut its assistance and Chinas invitation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to Beijing for talk regarding greater economic cooperation (Kurlantzick, 2006). The Global War on Terrorism which was launched by the Bush Administration shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001 drew US attention back in Southeast Asia. The focus of this new attention however was limited to counterterrorism as the United States focused on combatting Al-Qaeda and her allies. Despite Chinas growing

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influence in its use of soft power in Southeast Asia, the United States still maintained significant soft power capabilities in the region through the various foreign programs and its extensive development and humanitarian organizations (Lum et al, 2008). In a CRS Report for Congress titled Comparing Global Influence: Chinas and U.S. Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Trade and Investment in the Developing World, foreign aid is seen as an essential instrument of US foreign policy. The importance was further outlined by the Bush Administration during its FY2009 International Affairs 150 budget in which it had identified USAID as having a critical role in the implementation of the National Security Strategy (Lum et al, 2008). Furthermore, US aid to Southeast Asian countries has continued to grow since 2001 as a direct reflection of the Bush Administrations objective of combating the spread of terrorism. Much of this aid has benefitted major ASEAN nations such as Indonesia and the Philippines. The United States had spent $452 million in aid to Southeast Asia in 2007 which constituted 85% of its East Asia and Pacific assistance allotment at the time. In addition, the United States Peace Corps continues to operate in several ASEAN nations such as Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines (Lum et al, 2008).

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American soft power and influence was evidenced during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami wherein the United States contributed pledges of up to $305 million to help in the relief and recovery efforts. In following up with the monetary pledge, OFDA had also dispatched fifty-five Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART) members and their corresponding USAID staff to disaster stricken areas in countries such as India, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Through several airlifts, OFDA/USAID was able to provide tens of thousands of hygiene kits, water containers and emergency medicals kits to victims of the tsunami disaster. A critical aspect of US soft power in Southeast Asia has been the role of the United States Military in assisting the agencies under the Department of State in conducting Humanitarian Relief operations. This role was most apparent during the events following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, wherein the US Navy quickly deployed both a carrier strike group as well as an expeditionary strike group to assist in the distribution of relief goods and supplies to areas geographically isolated by the tsunami (US Navy History, 2007). in the article entitled The US Military & Soft Power written by Major John Garcia, Lieutenant Commander Michael Rak and Major David Yunt, the US militaries

structure, personnel, logistics and expeditionary capability have

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proven to be greatly advantageous in regards to helping the civilian organizations such as USAID in providing much needed humanitarian relief and assistance. This new brand of soft power projection had combined the advantages of hard power element of providing a quick and efficient military response to control the situation as well as provide aid and help their allies in need (Garcia et al, 2007). Though focused solely on the military aspect of humanitarian assistance, it provides valuable insights into how thinkers within the US military have planned to use assets normally associated with Hard Power in a way that not only supports its civilian counterpart agencies but also spread US soft power. Further evidence of the effective capabilities of the US Military in projecting its soft power capabilities came during events after Typhoon Ketsana had submerged Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. Both Dr. Rosalie and Dr. Cull (2010) had noted that units under the Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines (JSOTF-P) as well as Naval and Marine elements that were conducting training exercises at the time were sent to provide manpower and medical support in order to aid local Philippine government units in providing and distributing relief goods to calamity stricken Filipinos (VFACOM, 2012).

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This was, however, not the only time that the United States had assisted the Philippine government in responding disasters. In the paper entitled Civil-Military Relations in in Disaster Rescue and Relief Activities: Response to the Mudslide in Southern Leyte, Philippines, it should be noted that the US was also involved in providing disaster relief assistance to Philippine government and military units during the 2006 mudslide in Leyte which had caused tremendous damage and loss of life in the village of Guinsaugon, Leyte. This contingent consisted of a US Marine group as well as rotary and fixed wing assets which have assisted the Philippine government in search and rescue as well as relief and recovery operations. This event had highlighted the first highly-publicized response of the US in conducting disaster relief operations in the Philippines (Hall, Cular, 2010). involvements assistance of the to United Hilary States Clintons in These were some humanitarian of Americas

conducting declaration

prior

involvement in the Pacific in 2011. This academic paper was able to provide evidence of US involvement and the use of its military in assisting its Southeast Asian allies and more importantly, the Philippines, upon which this research paper is focused on. However, this papers attention was mainly focused on the operational aspects of the Local Philippine government and thus only provides a brief insight

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into one humanitarian assistance operation carried out by the United States.

C.

Neo-Realism in Foreign Policy Kenneth Waltz gave a new perspective to realism with his work.

In it, he stressed that the international community is anarchic and states have to take care of their own in order to survive. He also purported that the actions of states in the international community are still in keeping with traditional Realist sentiments in that they are driven by their personal interests. An article entitled Neo-Realism and Humanitarian Action: From Cold War to Our Days by Huseyn Aliyev discusses how neorealism is applied in humanitarian actions. The author based his explanation of the theory in Kenneth Waltz work Theory of International Politics and described the international system of today as an anarchic environment without any central power coordinating and regulating affairs among states. (Aliyev, 2011) Actions of states in the international arena are based on their own personal interests. Even in alliances, states still pursue their own individual goals. According to Aliyev, international politics are defined by the systematic nature of the world. He also discussed
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how power serves as a bridge relating all states to each other. Every state has a pursuit for power and this motivates them to build a strong army, develop weapons, and make sure that they have a developing economy because the stronger a state becomes, the less vulnerable it is in the international arena. The author also believes that neo-realism is a theory of balance and balance is needed to achieve peace. If a state has too much power, other states will be scared and wouldnt want to form an alliance with them, but if a state has too little power, other states would look down on it and take advantage of it. He also mentioned how states know the risk of using nuclear weapons and thus only use them for deterrence purposes. Some critics of neo-realism claim that the theory is only fitted for the bipolar world, or the time of the Cold War. They explain that states, in the present, prefer to join international organizations for security than building up their arsenal. The author also discussed humanitarian action and how it was during the period of the Cold War and how it has changed in the modern era. He concluded that neo-realism could be used by humanitarian analysts to predict behavior of states or international organizations and in some cases aid agencies in international politics. (Aliyev, 2011) Humanitarian assistance will always be based on self-interests of the sponsoring

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state or organization, and aid agencies are more prone to be biased with the states they choose to help. Lastly, the author concluded that neo-realist principles are not applicable to natural disaster aid assistance because states have no political interests with that situation. On another note, the article entitled Political Realism in International Relations by W. Julian Korab-Karpowicz also discussed neo-realism in relation to the work of Kenneth Waltz and but he included some objections to the theory. According to the author, Waltz described international politics as something similar to macroeconomics. States in the international system are like firms in a domestic economy and have the same fundamental interest: to survive. (Korab-Karpowicz, 20120) He also mentions that neorealism only explains why states behave similarly even though their governments differ and they have different political ideologies, and therefore, cannot be applied to domestic politics. States behave the same because the structure of the international system constrains states behaviors. The article also discussed how anarchy, or the absence of central authority, is for Waltz the ordering principle of the international system. (Korab-Karpowicz, 2010) States are the primary actors and they have to take care of themselves because
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anarchy is a system of self-help. Each state has the fundamental interest of security and is concentrating on their distribution of power. The anarchic international system is also characterized with limited cooperation between states because they fear that the other state would benefit more if they cooperate. Neo-realism was criticized in this article as a theory that cannot adequately account for changes in world politics. (Korab-Karpowicz, 2010) Another objection to the theory was about cooperation and that according to Robert Keohane, states can widen the perception of their selfinterest through economic cooperation and involvement in international institutions. (Korab-Karpowicz, 2010) The author concluded that an anarchic international system based on pure power relations among actors can evolve into a more cooperative and peaceful international society, in which state behavior is shaped by commonly shared values and norms. (Korab-Karpowicz, 2010)

D.

Soft Power Politics in the International Society Soft power is persuading others to agree or share the same

ideals as yours. It is the peaceful way of influencing others, without using threat or force. It has been a big part of the international society of today but a few still argue that it shouldnt be applied.
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In the article entitled Case Study: Hard Power or Soft Power? Searching for Chinas Use of Soft Power in the Pursuit of Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in Taiwan by Jani Juhani Mustonen, power is described in a way that it is generally used to explain a capability of one actor to change or influence the behavior of another actor. (Mustonen, 2010) To achieve this type of power, states need more than capabilities but they should also be aware of what the interest of other states are. In order to change the behavior of others, you need to attract them and persuade them. Unlike hard power which is focused on the military, soft power uses culture, values, and institutions to achieve its goal. Brantley Womack, a critic of soft power, mentions a flaw of soft power which is analytical fuzziness. (Mustonen, 2010) Three things related to soft power are attention, attractiveness, and persuasion. Attention is all about capabilities and resources, attractiveness is based on the individual judgement of other states, and persuasion is compliance without coercion or sanctions. (Mustonen, 2010) Another view on soft power is taken on the relation of power resources to power and power behavior. According to Alexander L. Vuving, same resources doesnt necessarily mean it produces the same behavior but it can also produce different behavior. Soft power is about benignity,

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brilliance, and beauty. Benignity is the attitude of the state using soft power towards the other state. Brilliance is seen when states become attracted to another state because it is successful. Beauty is what inspires states when they share the same ideals, values, and morals with other states. The author explains that soft power is a power currency and it is a property that causes power and in itself a property of resources and activities. (Mustonen, 2010) The article entitled The Benefits of Soft Power by Joseph S. Nye Jr. discusses soft power, its interplay with hard power, its limits, and how information revolution affects it. The author described soft power as the second face of power. (Nye Jr., 2004) A state can co-opt other states to attain its desired outcome through making them admire its values, follow its example, and make them want to be as prosperous and open as it is. Soft power is about being an example of what you want and attracting others which makes them help you achieve your goal or similar goals. It is about luring others to want what you want so that you wont have to use force. It is persuasion or the ability to move people by argument. (Nye Jr. 2004) One limit of soft power mentioned in the article is that imitation or attraction do not add up to power. (Nye Jr. 2004) It means that you are not powerful just because others copy or is
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attracted to you. Just like in other works, soft power attracts using shared values and similar objectives. Tysha Bohorquez, in a review entitled Soft Power The Means to Success in World Politics, discusses Nyes view on soft power, that a countrys ability to influence events through persuasion and attraction, rather than military or financial coercion. (Bohorquez, 2005) When a states culture, values, and institutions are admired and respected by other states, it suggests that it possess more soft power. U.S. has a strong popular culture around the world and its government suggests openness through their immigrants. U.S. does not bind itself with multinational treaties and agreements because it can constrain its actions. It rather makes sure that other states are within their reach as possible partners/allies. This way, the U.S. will be able to set the rules and their partners will just agree and support their decisions. Soft power also aided U.S. with terrorism in a way that their allies can serve as watch dogs for them. According to the author, critics David Frum and Richard Perole claim that soft power is irrelevant for a country without military rivals. (Bohorquez, 2005) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld believed that U.S. is capable of doing anything they want because they are the superpower but they have to accept the fact that not everyones
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going to side with them. He explained that the worlds only superpowers does not need permanent allies; the issues should determine the coalitions, not vice-versa. (Bohorquez, 2005)

CHAPTER III FRAMEWORK

Figure 1 will attempt to show the process by which the need for foreign aid and the subsequent procedural reaction translates into a carefully calculated strategy that will significantly affect the level of influence the responding country has on the recipient country. Whenever a calamity strikes a country, emergency needs arise depending on the number of people affected and the potential or incurred damage. Most often, communities will require the rescue of stranded individuals, or from a more long-term perspective, recovery from trauma and loss from the disaster. Even before a typhoon or similar calamity hits a country, ideally, there will be a number of
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mechanisms in place to anticipate a storm and minimize the potential damage. These mechanisms generally signal both local and foreign agencies to respond to the situation. Once word has gotten to INGOs that a country is in need of emergency aid following a devastating disaster, aid organizations such as the OFDA branch of USAID will secure reports from representatives on the field or simply from the local media on the status of the calamity. These organizations will then send an advisor or assessment team to evaluate the gravity of the situation. After which, to the they will forward their findings within and their

recommendations

appropriate

departments

organization to finally mobilize the resources that they have decided to allocate for the country. (Perry & Travayiakis, 2008). Oftentimes, the simple and straightforward process of evaluation, delegation and response when offering foreign aid to another country indicate an interest or objective of the donor country. The interest or objective can be achieved by using the procedural aspect of foreign aid as a strategy to either gain a tactical geographic advantage in a particular area, known as Geostrategy, or cause an outright expansion of the scope and extent of their Sphere of Influence (Mulaj, 2012). In either case of attempting to engage in Geostrategic activities or expand their Sphere of Influence, the actions of the country that

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sponsored the aid will experience a change in their level of influence or perhaps, their soft power projections over the recipient country. A weak level of influence may result if a country has had no prior relations with the host country or perhaps there are several ideological or political incompatibilities between the two. A moderate or strong level of influence will result, depending on the openness of the recipient country to accept the assistance as well as the increased presence of the donor country following the initial response to the calamity. (Drury et. al, 2005)

A. Conceptual Diagram
LEVEL OF INFLUENCE Strong Moderate Weak

NEED Rescue Recovery

PROCESS Evaluation Delegation Response

STRATEGY Geostrategy Sphere of Influence

Figure 1. The diagram shows the process of Disaster Management from the perspective of foreign aid organizations.

Figure 3 sums up the process by which Philippine mechanisms for detecting and gauging calamities kickstart the US response model for strengthening its level of influence over the Philippines and Asia. The
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mechanisms from which critical information about the calamity is relayed are referred to as Early Warning Systems (EWSs). These EWSs are operated by PHIVOLCS, PAGASA and other relevant offices per type of calamity as seen in the lower left portion of Figure 2, the Philippine Disaster Operations Flow as defined by the Office of Civil DefenseNational Disaster Coordinating Council. Throughout the ordeal, critical information is fed to local government units (LGUs) such as the National Disaster Management Center (NDMC) to assess the real-time situation concerning areas at risk. The President of the Republic of the Philippines or the LGUs may declare a state of calamity as they deem necessary. The qualifications for declaring such include criteria concerning the affected percentage of the population, dwellings, livelihood, roads, bridges, and major lifelines such as electricity, water, transport and communication. This would be done primarily to facilitate relief and rehabilitation efforts in calamity-affected areas, to control prices and prevent hoarding of basic commodities, and to carry out remedial measures in the affected areas, such as the release of funds from the national and local governments. (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, 2001).

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Figure 2. Disaster Operations Flow. Source: Office of Civil Defense-National Disaster Coordinating Council

While under a state of calamity, all resources and avenues for extending rescue and recovery to affected areas are utilized. The declaration itself is quite possibly the clearest prompt for INGOs that offer foreign aid to begin acting on the situation. Before ultimately deciding on sending aid to the afflicted country, aid organizations, such
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as USAID in particular, would employ a set of criteria to determine the necessity and urgency of responding to a specific calamity. According to Charles M. Perry and Marina Travayiakis in their article entitled The U.S. Foreign Disaster Response Process: How It Works and How It Could Work Better the criteria include: 1) the disaster must be beyond the ability of the host nation to handle on its own;

2) the host nation must formally request U.S. assistance; 3) such assistance must be in the strategic interests of the United States. In terms of priority, the first and third questions supersede the second. If at least these two items are met, USAID will begin the bureaucratic process of deploying a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and spending up to $50,000 on any standard relief mission, or for special cases, up to $100,000 when the US Ambassador deems fit (Drury et. al, 2005). In an article on U.S. national interests in the 21st century and its security environment, Commander Edilberto M. Salenga of the U.S. Navy explained that the relatively new core competencies of humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities comprise the core of U.S. soft power and reflect an increase in emphasis on
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those activities that prevent war and build partnerships. Therefore, for the purposes of this research, it can be claimed that such efforts to deliver assistance and emergency or long-term response for countries like the Philippines entail strategic intentions to strengthen and widen American presence in the area. Finally, increased presence of the U.S. in the Philippines will essentially translate into a stronger and more compelling stance both within and beyond the borders of the recipient country; particularly within Asia at the height of the U.S. Pacific Century.

B. Operational Diagram 1) Is the country in dire need of USAID assistance? State of Calamit y 2) Did the country make a formal request? 3) Is such assistance in the strategic interests of the US? Soft power projection towards Figure 3. Diagram summarizes how the the process employed disaster mitigation Philippines
by USAID can translate into a projection of soft power over the recipient country which eventually leads to an increased level of influence over that country and the surrounding areas.

EWS s

DARTs

Strong level of influence over Philippines; Asia

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Page 36 of 41

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