Journal articles by Cleve V . Arguelles
Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, 2022
In this essay, I argue that the political developments leading to and until the conclusion of the... more In this essay, I argue that the political developments leading to and until the conclusion of the 2022 Philippine elections show that a section of the country’s elite families are shifting away from the usual anarchic competition to a path of unity to insulate themselves and the institution of familial rule from threats of reform and other similar challenges in the future. This process can be described as the formation of a metaphorical Philippine Leviathan state, similar to how previously fractured communal, economic, and political elites in Malaysia and Singapore have come together to build strong authoritarian states to permanently protect themselves from the destabilizing threats of communism and liberal democratization (Slater 2010). I develop four points to illustrate my argument. First, the popularity of former president and populist par excellence Rodrigo Roa Duterte has driven a demand for a continuity government among the 2022 election voters. This has benefited the Marcos-Duterte candidacies. Second, the tandem has also taken advantage of the Marcos family’s well-oiled myth- making machinery. Although beneficial, none of these could have won them the elections if not for the careful brokering of arranged marriages among some of the country’s most dominant political families. This is my third point. Finally, I explain why the political conditions in post-authoritarian Philippines have motivated the country’s elites to band together rather than compete, a longstanding practice in elections, to fortify defenses against challenges to their individual and collective rule.
Review of Women's Studies, 2020
An unholy alliance between populism and patriarchy is on the rise. As populist leaders gain power... more An unholy alliance between populism and patriarchy is on the rise. As populist leaders gain power, they also use it to invoke patriarchal norms aimed against women and other gender minorities. Gendered populism manifests worldwide but most especially in the Philippines. Since Rodrigo Duterte’s electoral victory in 2016, his speeches and actions have deepened patriarchal, sexist, and misogynist norms embedded in Philippine society. Despite this, he continues to enjoy a high level of public support even among women. Scholars have offered various explanations for Duterte’s popularity. This exploration of how different publics perceive and respond to Duterte’s populism serves as the take-off point of this research. This study extends existing conversations by focusing on two presently underexplored areas: women in the religious sector and the gendered nature of Duterte’s populism. This article pays attention to this particular question: how do ordinary religious Christian women perceive and respond to Duterte’s gendered populism? In this article, we show how gendered Christian theology informs how they embrace or reject the president’s sexist and misogynist rhetoric. Ordinary religious Christian women draw from diverse and conflicting traditions of church and biblical teachings to either legitimize or protest Duterte’s gendered populism. In embracing gendered populist politics, they find justifications from traditional gender roles prescribed by Christian doctrines. In rejecting it, they draw from the same doctrines espousing the equality of sexes. But despite this difference, they similarly endorse a “spiritual” rather than a “public” response from their churches. Personal spiritual interventions are believed to be the most effective way in influencing the president’s behavior. The choice of religious frames matter in the responses of ordinary religious Christian women to gendered populism.
Review of Women's Studies, 2020
In the maiden issue of the Review of Women’s Studies published in 1990, its first editor UP Prof... more In the maiden issue of the Review of Women’s Studies published in 1990, its first editor UP Professor Emeritus Thelma B. Kintanar proclaimed that the primary goal of the journal is to “serve as a forum where ideas on specific issues and concerns affecting the lives of women may be exchangedasseenfromtheanalyticalperspectivesofdifferentdisciplines.” Now, 30 years after, we are proud to continue this dignified tradition. The resurgence of populism is one of the most significant contemporary developments to have affected the lives of women and other gender minorities in the Philippines and the rest of the world. This RWS Special Issue on Gender and Populism in the Philippines critically examines the varied ways the marriage of patriarchal practices and populist politics has reinforced, re-shaped, and retrofitted the contours of hegemonic gender norms in Philippine society. Using a diverse set of scholarly lenses, the special issue pays attention to the pernicious consequences of gendered populism on the everyday experiences of Filipino women and LGBTQ+ communities on the ground.
Asian Politics & Policy, 2019
Populism is about populist publics as much as it is about populist leaders. Presently, they are p... more Populism is about populist publics as much as it is about populist leaders. Presently, they are pejoratively represented in public and academic conversations. Populist voting is mostly approached as a social pathology, especially in mainstream populism studies. This study is a contribution to the emerging tradition of extending empathetic approaches to the study of populist publics by interrogating how populist supporters make sense of their votes and politics through their own perspectives. Using a year-long political ethnography of supporters of populist Philippine president Rodrigo Roa Duterte in a big slum community in Metro Manila, this research offers an intimate understanding of the electoral motivations of those who voted for him. Specifically, their vote for the populist Duterte is about making their everyday misery visible, bringing authenticity to politics, and overcoming bureaucratic inertia. Empirical observations in the field reveal the unique threefold representational, experiential, and action-oriented dimensions of populist publics’ vote in the Philippines.
Refeng Xueshu, 2019
Are Filipino millennials politically apathetic? Drawing from a digital ethnography of the controv... more Are Filipino millennials politically apathetic? Drawing from a digital ethnography of the controversial online “Alter” community in Philippine Twitter, this article provides an alternative approach to understanding the seeming political apathy among contemporary Filipino youth. Using a generational lens, this paper argues that the politics of the youth of today is expectedly different and misrecognized because of differing social, economic, and political moments that have shaped their political dispositions. To measure millennials against standards of political participation derived from the experiences of previous generations is unproductive. Rather, what we are seeing among young Filipinos is an enthusiasm in novel, creative and disruptive forms of civic engagement that have yet to be appreciated as equally significant and political. This include the practice of digital citizenship, or the production and consumption of digital contents as a means to create and engage in the social world. A product of the social experiences of the millennial generation, I demonstrate in this article how digital citizenship is an emerging form of politics among Filipino millennials.
Democratic Theory, 2018
Both “populism” and “populist” have long been considered ill-defined terms, and therefore are reg... more Both “populism” and “populist” have long been considered ill-defined terms, and therefore are regularly misapplied in both scholarly and popular discourses.1 This definitional difficulty is exacerbated by the Babelian confusion of voices on populism, where the term’s meaning differs within and between global regions (e.g. Latin America versus Western Europe); time periods (e.g. 1930s versus the present), and classifications (e.g. left/ right, authoritarian/libertarian, pluralist/antipluralist, as well as strains that muddy these distinctions such as homonationalism, xenophobic feminism and multicultural neonationalism). While useful efforts have been made to navigate the vast and heterogeneous conceptual terrain of populism,2 they rarely engage with each other. The result is a dizzying proliferation of different definitions unaccompanied by an understanding as to how they might speak to each other. And this conceptual fragmentation reinforces, and is reinforced by, diverging assessments of populism which tend to cast it as either “good” or “bad” for democracy (e.g. Dzur and Hendriks 2018; Müller 2015).
Philippine Journal of Health Research and Development, 2018
This article aims to contribute to the literature on health and politics in the Philippines. So f... more This article aims to contribute to the literature on health and politics in the Philippines. So far, the wealth of studies on the intersection of these two in the local context has been mostly focused on issues of health sector reform and specific health policies/legislations. Unlike elsewhere, the use of health in elections in the Philippines, the most important political activity in any democracy, remain largely understudied. This article attempts to fill this gap by studying the ways health was used in the 2016 Philippines elections. To do this, I mapped the ways health is used as an electoral currency, meaning as a means for vote brokerages, during local election campaigns. The observations that informed this study are based on a political ethnographic study in Quezon City. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observations were conducted among voters and politicians of two vote-rich electoral districts in the city. The transcripts and notes from the data gathered were coded and thematically analyzed. Voters and politicians use health as means of transactional exchange of votes during local elections-an electoral currency. Politicians use their control of public health facilities and services to secure votes while voters simultaneously use their vote as a leverage to gain access to these health facilities and services and improve its delivery in their communities. So while politicians use health to reinforce patron-client ties during elections, voters take advantage of its opportunities to improve their everyday life.
Book chapters by Cleve V . Arguelles
The Next Digital Decade: Case Studies from Asia, 2021
A diverse range of societies is increasingly facing the challenge of disinformation but we still ... more A diverse range of societies is increasingly facing the challenge of disinformation but we still need more understanding of the variations in disinformation vulnerability, especially in Southeast Asia. Across the region, our research shows that different media system features produce a variety of incentives that shape disinformation. We present three media system models in the region – the government mouthpiece model, the limited public informant model, and the public watchdog model – and the variations in disinformation vulnerabilities each one faces respectively. The overwhelming state control of the entire media ecosystem in the government mouthpiece model makes it highly vulnerable to state-backed disinformation. In the public watchdog model, the relative openness of the
media system to different actors makes it highly vulnerable to state and non-state-backed disinformation. The uneven media system features of the limited public informant model makes it more vulnerable to state-backed
disinformation but also still susceptible to non-state-backed disinformation. The spotlighting of media systems reveals the institutional sources of disinformation vulnerabilities, enabling civil society, government, and even the private sector, to design more appropriate and effective responses to combat disinformation.
Disinformation in the Global South, 2022
Hallin and Mancini's landmark attempt to map the developments of the press in established democra... more Hallin and Mancini's landmark attempt to map the developments of the press in established democracies (2004) has proven lacking when applied outside of Europe and North America, as recognized in their later work (2012) and agreed with by other scholars (Voltmer 2008). While others have tried a media systems approach in
Southeast Asian Affairs 2021, 2021
As with the rest of Southeast Asia, the coronavirus outbreak took the entire Philippines by surpr... more As with the rest of Southeast Asia, the coronavirus outbreak took the entire Philippines by surprise in early 2020. But the response by the Philippine government was quite distinct compared to those of its neighbours. It placed the entire country in a highly securitized lockdown—one of the longest and strictest in the world. Yet, close to the end of the year it become clear that the harsh measures taken by the government had failed to keep the outbreak from turning into a full-blown economic, health, political and social crisis. But rather than being a curse for the populist president Rodrigo Duterte, the pandemic turned out to be a gift. Despite leading one of the worst-managed responses in the region to the outbreak, the crisis gave Duterte an opportunity to renew the public mandate for his illiberal agenda. The series of spectacular failures by his administration in curbing the spread of the virus did not dent his popularity. Using the lens of comparative populism, this chapter draws attention to the populist nature of Duterte to explain the basis and dynamics of his enduring favour. Populist leaders emerge from, manufacture, and thrive in crises. Crises create social conditions of widespread anxiety and insecurity that are particularly conducive for populist support. As a populist, Duterte mobilized support by capitalizing on anxieties, securitizing the pandemic, and polarizing Philippine society. In short, the populist brand is crisis. Unpacking Duterte’s populist nature is key to understanding how he used a slow-moving disaster like the COVID-19 pandemic to his advantage. While 2019 in the Philippines saw the successful political consolidation of the Duterte regime, 2020 proved how durable Dutertismo has become. Duterte is now the most powerful and popular Philippine president since the country’s return to democracy in 1986.
Rethinking Filipino Millennials: Alternative Perspectives on a Misunderstood Generation, 2020
Are millennials apathetic? This accusation is common about Filipino millennials. But in this cha... more Are millennials apathetic? This accusation is common about Filipino millennials. But in this chapter, I provide a different way of approaching the seeming political apathy among them. Building on Mannheim’s (1952) sociological theory on generations, I argue that the politics of the youth of today is expectedly different from the previous generations’ because of differing social, economic, and political moments that may have shaped their political dispositions. To measure millennials against standards of political participation derived from the experiences of previous generations is unproductive. Following Cornelio (2016), I argue further that a general condition of social isolation that characterizes contemporary Philippine society continues to form the unique modes of political participation among young Filipinos. This chapter draws from my reflections on my experiences as a youth activist for almost a decade and our research on the political dispositions of contemporary youth as well as from studies on political participation, civic engagement, and the political motivations of Filipino youths.
This chapter is divided into two sections. In the first section, I trace the social conditions and the consequent forms of political participation of the previous generations. As the approach is macro-historical, spectacular moments of participation were deliberately chosen to reflect a generation’s politics (instead of the everyday and the particular). The generational lens adopted here may have also uncritically homogenized generations. But this is far from the aim of this chapter. Some political moments discussed may have only mobilized or involved certain segments of the population. But they nonetheless occupy a valuable place in the political imagination of one’s generation. Whether the radical university students that led the anti-dictatorship struggle or the rural youth who joined the anti-Japanese guerrilla units, these particular youth populations that involved themselves in defining political moments may be argued to represent a generation’s politics because of its long-term impact and symbolic value. The second section accounts for the shared social tragedies or experiences that continue to shape the specific kind of politics of Filipino millennials. Economic vulnerability, transnationalizing family, and political detachment are significant experiences that affect this generation. In turn, they significantly influence their evolving preference for a personalized and amorphous kind of political involvement.
Regulating the Cyberspace: Perspectives from Asia, 2020
This chapter maps shifting modes of social media regulation in Asia. Asian societies are witnessi... more This chapter maps shifting modes of social media regulation in Asia. Asian societies are witnessing a worrying convergence towards a model of active state control of social media, its increasingly similar contours mirroring tightening government control of the entire internet architecture. Despite diverse socio-political contexts, many Asian states are turning away from models of platform self-regulation to active state policing of social media activity. This shift has grievously undermined internet freedom and human rights in the region. Three significant developments characterise the new regulation model. First, government capacities to censor, manipulate, and restrict social media activity have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years. Second, governments are also centralising material and organisational resources for social media monitoring through creation of top-level organisations with dedicated social media regulation responsibilities. And third, governments are also rapidly adopting punitive and criminal law sanctions to keep social media companies and users in their best behaviours. This chapter pays attention to how these regional developments are distinctly manifested on the ground especially in countriesin South and Southeast Asia. The changing trends in social media regulation are most prominent in these two regions, where the world’s highest concentration of social media activity coincides with the most state-dominated internet regimes in Asia.
A Duterte Reader: Critical Essays on Rodrigo Duterte's Early Presidency, 2017
In "A Duterte Reader: Critical Essays on Rodrigo Duterte's Early Presidency", edited by Nicole Cu... more In "A Duterte Reader: Critical Essays on Rodrigo Duterte's Early Presidency", edited by Nicole Curato (Ateneo De Manila University Press and Cornell University Press, 2017).
Reports by Cleve V . Arguelles
Asia Democracy Network, 2022
This document examines the prospective impact of the emergence of China as a regional power in th... more This document examines the prospective impact of the emergence of China as a regional power in the Asia Pacific and its effects on the future of the democratization process in the region. Of particular concern here is the effect of a strong and politically assertive China on the prognosis for a nascent democratic community in East Asia. Since 1986, the spread of democracy and the process of democratic consolidation in the region have proceeded steadily but at an uneven pace across a number of countries. Both processes have been marked by difficulties in institution-building, the popular understanding of participation, the acceptance of individual rights and social obligations as inherently equal aspects of democratic rule, and
on how political elites have institutionalized representation and accountability. On the whole, democratic norms and structures in these countries remain compromised in some cases, and fragile for the most part
– that is, susceptible to the influence or impact of changes in the regional or international order.
China’s rise is easily among the most important developments within the last ten years in the Asia Pacific region. Probable implications have been strongly debated by policy-makers and academics with some drawing attention to the inevitability of Chinese hegemony over the Asia Pacific region and others
looking forward to a prospective era of greater openness, comfort and cooperation. At first glance, these perspectives seem to reflect different points of emphasis. China’s growing military and economic strength is seen as a cause for concern for the medium- and long-term stability and prosperity of East Asia. At the same time, however, Chinese initiatives on increasing economic cooperation in the region through multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements are a welcome development for countries in the region. These apparently diametrically opposed tendencies are not necessarily mutually exclusive as it is quite
possible to look at the increasing “openness, comfort and cooperation” between China and the rest of Asia as an inevitable course in the face of the inexorable growth of Chinese power. The emergence of
China as a regional power is nonetheless largely seen by Asian states with elements of increased levels of cooperation and continuing unease.
The questions facing this text take into consideration the conjunction of two developments – the processes of democratization and democratic consolidation in the Asian region, and the emergence of a non-democratic China as a regionally dominant power. Is the emergence of China a condition that will hinder or promote democracy in Asia? How will it affect the currently fragile democratic community in Asia? A commonly held perception is that the rise of a non-democratic China to political and economic hegemony in the region constitutes a threat to the deepening of the democratization process in the Asia Pacific.
This document looks into three main areas. First, it discusses Chinese interference in the Asia Pacific and its impact in weakening efforts to democratize. It is basically argued here that the democratic institutions
of countries in the region remain largely weak therefore, susceptible to the negative effects of Chinese political interference. Second, the document explores the nature of China’s economic rise and how it usesits economic weight which has negative implications on efforts to promote democratic values. Two areas are given particular attention: the emergence of China as an economic power in the region, and the extent this has translated into a China that has become increasingly politically assertive within the Asia Pacific region. Third, the document looks at how China’s actions in the recent era has translated into dangerous pivots that has essentially plunged the region into a less secure space for dissent among civil society and
other pro-democracy actors.
Through this document, ADN aims to present a picture of how China uses its economic and political brunt to undermine democratization in the region, intentionally or not. Through this work, we hope that civil society in Asia will be engaged and invited to discuss how to tackle impediments to democracy in the face of a strong illiberal actor like China.
Asian Network for Free Elections, 2019
Asian Network for Free Elections, 2019
อภิ ธานศั พท์ 4 กิ ตติ กรรมประกาศ 5 เกี ่ ยวกั บองค์ กร 7 เกี ่ ยวกั บคณะผู ้ สั งเกตการณ์ 9 บทสร... more อภิ ธานศั พท์ 4 กิ ตติ กรรมประกาศ 5 เกี ่ ยวกั บองค์ กร 7 เกี ่ ยวกั บคณะผู ้ สั งเกตการณ์ 9 บทสรุ ปส� าหรั บผู ้ บริ หาร 11 กฎหมายและการจั ดการเลื อกตั ้ ง 15 กรอบกฎหมายและรั ฐธรรมนู ญ 15 ระบบการเลื อกตั ้ ง 22 คณะกรรมการการเลื อกตั ้ ง (กกต.) 31 การจั ดการบั ญชี รายชื ่ อผู ้ มี สิ ทธิ เลื อกตั ้ ง 38 การจดทะเบี ยนพรรคการเมื องและการก� ากั บดู แล 43 การแก้ ปั ญหาร้ องเรี ยนเกี ่ ยวกั บการเลื อกตั ้ ง 46 บรรยากาศการเลื อกตั ้ ง 51 ช่ วงหาเสี ยง 51 ความรั บรู ้ ข้ อมู ลของผู ้ มี สิ ทธิ เลื อกตั ้ ง 54 สื ่ อและเสรี ภาพในการแสดงความคิ ดเห็ น 55 องค์ กรประชาสั งคม องค์ กรจั บตาการเลื อกตั ้ งในประเทศ 58 และองค์ กรพั ฒนาเอกชนระหว่ างประเทศ ความครอบคลุ มด้ านเพศสภาพ 60 การมี ส่ วนร่ วมในการเลื อกตั ้ งของเยาวชน 62 การซื ้ อเสี ยงและการใช้ ทรั พยากรของรั ฐโดยมิ ชอบ 65 กระบวนการลงคะแนน 68 การเลื อกตั ้ งล่ วงหน้ า 68 วั นเลื อกตั ้ ง: เปิ ดหน่ วย ลงคะแนน ปิ ดหี บ และนั บคะแนน 71 การออกมาใช้ สิ ทธิ เลื อกตั ้ งของประชาชน 74 บั ตรเสี ย 76 การประกาศผล 78 ข้ อเสนอแนะ 85 ภาพถ่ าย 90 ภาคผนวก 100
Institute for Leadership, Empowerment, and Democracy, 2019
Book reviews by Cleve V . Arguelles
Philippine Journal of Public Policy, 2020
For an enigmatic man like Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, to write an account of the ma... more For an enigmatic man like Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, to write an account of the man’s life is surely a demanding enterprise. Independent journalist Earl Parreño boldly took up the challenge and succeeded in constructing a comprehensive profile of the man. Through a laborious gathering of countless interviews and documents, the result is the book Beyond Will and Power, a short biography of Duterte focusing on his political and family life prior to his rise to Malacañang.
While a cottage industry around Duterte has been booming among many writers since his presidential victory in 2016, many works produced have barely scratched the surface. This book is both a timely and necessary intervention: the details of his past lives, especially before his time as the infamous Davao City mayor, have yet to be made accessible. The emphasis on the rich political and family life trajectories of the Duterte clan, meaningfully situated in the sociohistorical development of Davao, Mindanao, and the nation, is the book’s most significant contributions. However, the book’s attempt to decouple Duterte from his destructive legacy to Philippine society is a weak point that cannot be easily overlooked. In this review, I will give a brief overview of the book, followed by a short discussion of what this biography can potentially offer for the study of Philippine politics and society, and ends with a critical reflection on the ethics of writing a political biography.
Asian Politics & Policy, 2019
Saliksik E-Journal, 2018
Rebyu ng Manzanilla, JPaul S. at Caroline S. Hau, mga pat. 2016. Remembering/Rethinking EDSA. Man... more Rebyu ng Manzanilla, JPaul S. at Caroline S. Hau, mga pat. 2016. Remembering/Rethinking EDSA. Mandaluyong City: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
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Journal articles by Cleve V . Arguelles
Book chapters by Cleve V . Arguelles
media system to different actors makes it highly vulnerable to state and non-state-backed disinformation. The uneven media system features of the limited public informant model makes it more vulnerable to state-backed
disinformation but also still susceptible to non-state-backed disinformation. The spotlighting of media systems reveals the institutional sources of disinformation vulnerabilities, enabling civil society, government, and even the private sector, to design more appropriate and effective responses to combat disinformation.
This chapter is divided into two sections. In the first section, I trace the social conditions and the consequent forms of political participation of the previous generations. As the approach is macro-historical, spectacular moments of participation were deliberately chosen to reflect a generation’s politics (instead of the everyday and the particular). The generational lens adopted here may have also uncritically homogenized generations. But this is far from the aim of this chapter. Some political moments discussed may have only mobilized or involved certain segments of the population. But they nonetheless occupy a valuable place in the political imagination of one’s generation. Whether the radical university students that led the anti-dictatorship struggle or the rural youth who joined the anti-Japanese guerrilla units, these particular youth populations that involved themselves in defining political moments may be argued to represent a generation’s politics because of its long-term impact and symbolic value. The second section accounts for the shared social tragedies or experiences that continue to shape the specific kind of politics of Filipino millennials. Economic vulnerability, transnationalizing family, and political detachment are significant experiences that affect this generation. In turn, they significantly influence their evolving preference for a personalized and amorphous kind of political involvement.
Reports by Cleve V . Arguelles
on how political elites have institutionalized representation and accountability. On the whole, democratic norms and structures in these countries remain compromised in some cases, and fragile for the most part
– that is, susceptible to the influence or impact of changes in the regional or international order.
China’s rise is easily among the most important developments within the last ten years in the Asia Pacific region. Probable implications have been strongly debated by policy-makers and academics with some drawing attention to the inevitability of Chinese hegemony over the Asia Pacific region and others
looking forward to a prospective era of greater openness, comfort and cooperation. At first glance, these perspectives seem to reflect different points of emphasis. China’s growing military and economic strength is seen as a cause for concern for the medium- and long-term stability and prosperity of East Asia. At the same time, however, Chinese initiatives on increasing economic cooperation in the region through multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements are a welcome development for countries in the region. These apparently diametrically opposed tendencies are not necessarily mutually exclusive as it is quite
possible to look at the increasing “openness, comfort and cooperation” between China and the rest of Asia as an inevitable course in the face of the inexorable growth of Chinese power. The emergence of
China as a regional power is nonetheless largely seen by Asian states with elements of increased levels of cooperation and continuing unease.
The questions facing this text take into consideration the conjunction of two developments – the processes of democratization and democratic consolidation in the Asian region, and the emergence of a non-democratic China as a regionally dominant power. Is the emergence of China a condition that will hinder or promote democracy in Asia? How will it affect the currently fragile democratic community in Asia? A commonly held perception is that the rise of a non-democratic China to political and economic hegemony in the region constitutes a threat to the deepening of the democratization process in the Asia Pacific.
This document looks into three main areas. First, it discusses Chinese interference in the Asia Pacific and its impact in weakening efforts to democratize. It is basically argued here that the democratic institutions
of countries in the region remain largely weak therefore, susceptible to the negative effects of Chinese political interference. Second, the document explores the nature of China’s economic rise and how it usesits economic weight which has negative implications on efforts to promote democratic values. Two areas are given particular attention: the emergence of China as an economic power in the region, and the extent this has translated into a China that has become increasingly politically assertive within the Asia Pacific region. Third, the document looks at how China’s actions in the recent era has translated into dangerous pivots that has essentially plunged the region into a less secure space for dissent among civil society and
other pro-democracy actors.
Through this document, ADN aims to present a picture of how China uses its economic and political brunt to undermine democratization in the region, intentionally or not. Through this work, we hope that civil society in Asia will be engaged and invited to discuss how to tackle impediments to democracy in the face of a strong illiberal actor like China.
Book reviews by Cleve V . Arguelles
While a cottage industry around Duterte has been booming among many writers since his presidential victory in 2016, many works produced have barely scratched the surface. This book is both a timely and necessary intervention: the details of his past lives, especially before his time as the infamous Davao City mayor, have yet to be made accessible. The emphasis on the rich political and family life trajectories of the Duterte clan, meaningfully situated in the sociohistorical development of Davao, Mindanao, and the nation, is the book’s most significant contributions. However, the book’s attempt to decouple Duterte from his destructive legacy to Philippine society is a weak point that cannot be easily overlooked. In this review, I will give a brief overview of the book, followed by a short discussion of what this biography can potentially offer for the study of Philippine politics and society, and ends with a critical reflection on the ethics of writing a political biography.
media system to different actors makes it highly vulnerable to state and non-state-backed disinformation. The uneven media system features of the limited public informant model makes it more vulnerable to state-backed
disinformation but also still susceptible to non-state-backed disinformation. The spotlighting of media systems reveals the institutional sources of disinformation vulnerabilities, enabling civil society, government, and even the private sector, to design more appropriate and effective responses to combat disinformation.
This chapter is divided into two sections. In the first section, I trace the social conditions and the consequent forms of political participation of the previous generations. As the approach is macro-historical, spectacular moments of participation were deliberately chosen to reflect a generation’s politics (instead of the everyday and the particular). The generational lens adopted here may have also uncritically homogenized generations. But this is far from the aim of this chapter. Some political moments discussed may have only mobilized or involved certain segments of the population. But they nonetheless occupy a valuable place in the political imagination of one’s generation. Whether the radical university students that led the anti-dictatorship struggle or the rural youth who joined the anti-Japanese guerrilla units, these particular youth populations that involved themselves in defining political moments may be argued to represent a generation’s politics because of its long-term impact and symbolic value. The second section accounts for the shared social tragedies or experiences that continue to shape the specific kind of politics of Filipino millennials. Economic vulnerability, transnationalizing family, and political detachment are significant experiences that affect this generation. In turn, they significantly influence their evolving preference for a personalized and amorphous kind of political involvement.
on how political elites have institutionalized representation and accountability. On the whole, democratic norms and structures in these countries remain compromised in some cases, and fragile for the most part
– that is, susceptible to the influence or impact of changes in the regional or international order.
China’s rise is easily among the most important developments within the last ten years in the Asia Pacific region. Probable implications have been strongly debated by policy-makers and academics with some drawing attention to the inevitability of Chinese hegemony over the Asia Pacific region and others
looking forward to a prospective era of greater openness, comfort and cooperation. At first glance, these perspectives seem to reflect different points of emphasis. China’s growing military and economic strength is seen as a cause for concern for the medium- and long-term stability and prosperity of East Asia. At the same time, however, Chinese initiatives on increasing economic cooperation in the region through multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements are a welcome development for countries in the region. These apparently diametrically opposed tendencies are not necessarily mutually exclusive as it is quite
possible to look at the increasing “openness, comfort and cooperation” between China and the rest of Asia as an inevitable course in the face of the inexorable growth of Chinese power. The emergence of
China as a regional power is nonetheless largely seen by Asian states with elements of increased levels of cooperation and continuing unease.
The questions facing this text take into consideration the conjunction of two developments – the processes of democratization and democratic consolidation in the Asian region, and the emergence of a non-democratic China as a regionally dominant power. Is the emergence of China a condition that will hinder or promote democracy in Asia? How will it affect the currently fragile democratic community in Asia? A commonly held perception is that the rise of a non-democratic China to political and economic hegemony in the region constitutes a threat to the deepening of the democratization process in the Asia Pacific.
This document looks into three main areas. First, it discusses Chinese interference in the Asia Pacific and its impact in weakening efforts to democratize. It is basically argued here that the democratic institutions
of countries in the region remain largely weak therefore, susceptible to the negative effects of Chinese political interference. Second, the document explores the nature of China’s economic rise and how it usesits economic weight which has negative implications on efforts to promote democratic values. Two areas are given particular attention: the emergence of China as an economic power in the region, and the extent this has translated into a China that has become increasingly politically assertive within the Asia Pacific region. Third, the document looks at how China’s actions in the recent era has translated into dangerous pivots that has essentially plunged the region into a less secure space for dissent among civil society and
other pro-democracy actors.
Through this document, ADN aims to present a picture of how China uses its economic and political brunt to undermine democratization in the region, intentionally or not. Through this work, we hope that civil society in Asia will be engaged and invited to discuss how to tackle impediments to democracy in the face of a strong illiberal actor like China.
While a cottage industry around Duterte has been booming among many writers since his presidential victory in 2016, many works produced have barely scratched the surface. This book is both a timely and necessary intervention: the details of his past lives, especially before his time as the infamous Davao City mayor, have yet to be made accessible. The emphasis on the rich political and family life trajectories of the Duterte clan, meaningfully situated in the sociohistorical development of Davao, Mindanao, and the nation, is the book’s most significant contributions. However, the book’s attempt to decouple Duterte from his destructive legacy to Philippine society is a weak point that cannot be easily overlooked. In this review, I will give a brief overview of the book, followed by a short discussion of what this biography can potentially offer for the study of Philippine politics and society, and ends with a critical reflection on the ethics of writing a political biography.
This paper argues that the introduction of neoliberal policies in the university covariates with the decline in the state of democratic governance in UP. This is evidenced by the increasing perception of the university community that policies and decisions are made in an undemocratic manner. In the past decades, neoliberal economic policies introduced to UP were also met with consistent resistance from various sectors of the university. Along with these, the university were at many times put into national controversy because of several key policies adopted by the administration even without the support of the university community and the public. All these contributed to the erosion of the tradition of democratic governance in UP.
This paper navigates the tensions between neoliberalism and university governance, and, hopefully, offers fresh critical insights helpful to arrest the decline of democratic governance in UP.
This course will enable students to (1) gain an empirical and analytical understanding of the political dynamics of the country; (2) understand the historical development of the Philippine political system in order to help you comprehend the roots of the current social, economic and political issues; and (3) address and debate theoretical questions in political science using the experience of the Philippine society.