DIPLOMAȚIA DEZASTRELOR. CAZURILE TURCIEI ȘI SIRIEI
DISASTER DIPLOMACY. TURKEY’S AND SYRIA’S CASES

Summary/Abstract: On the morning of February 6, 2023, a powerful earth quake hit Turkey and Syria. The death toll has risen to over 50,000 victims and billions of dollars in material damage. Some 20 million people in Turkey have been affected by the quake, while the United Nations estimates 8.8 million people have been affected in Syria. This natural disaster and its trail of destruction it is an illustration of 'disasters without borders' syntagm. In International Relations field of study, a central paradigm has emerged around this kind of events. In spite of a host normative, ideological and strategic differences, all the actors in the international system acknowledge to a greater or lesser extent that what happens in one part of the globe might affect the entire world. Building on Ilan Kelman’s research on disaster diplomacy, which culminated in the 2012publication of the only book on this topic, Disaster Diplomacy: How Disasters Affect Peace and Conflict, this essay will attempt to decipher how the strained relations between Turkey and Syria, on the one hand, and Turkey, Syria and the rest of the Western world, on the other, have evolved or worsened following the earthquakes and the attempts of the international community to intervene at humanitarian level. In other words, it will try to answer a very pressing question: can diplomatic opportunities brought on by disasters make any difference for peace among these heterogeneous actors?

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