Contemporary Populism and Democratic Challenges in the Philippines

Populism is a recurring feature of Philippine politics, with a heightened or muted presence depending on actors, events and other factors that may impact the overall political system. While the 1987 Philippine Constitution theoretically sought to establish a democratic system that would bar the return of authoritarianism, the functions of the Philippine government and its version of democracy seem to differ greatly from what was originally envisioned. This chapter seeks to address the factors that have allowed the Philippine populism movement to blossom, such as weak institutions, globalization, and expansion of social media. It finds that the absence of strong political parties has allowed for a more character-driven election system, in which political parties are merely vehicles for candidates to use rather than organizations that represent ideologies. By using the media (mainstream and social) to ignite support from citizens who may feel abandoned by the globalized economy, leaders such as Rodrigo Duterte often bypass other democratic institutions to communicate directly with the masses. Lack of rules on political turncoatism has also granted leaders greater control of the legislative branch, eliminating other sources that could implement a check on their power. These changes and a lack of mechanisms for citizen monitoring have helped widen the disparity between the democracy envisioned in the 1987 Constitution and the government of 2020

Democracy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Law · Philippine History and Culture

• Medical populism and the politics of dengue epidemics in the Global South

  Open Access•G Lasco, Vincen Gregory Yu•Global Public Health•2021

  Add to list