The Philippines

How Much Real Democracy

Bibliographic Data

ID6298920
AuthorsBjörn Dressel (0000-0002-3301-6805, Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, Australia, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume32
Issue5
Pages529-545
Publication date2011-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0192-5121 • E-ISSN: 1460-373X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0192512111417912
OpenAlexW2093723963
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited34

Democracy in the Philippines is a paradox. It was the first country in the region to topple authoritarian rule. Signs of a vibrant democracy are extensive: high voter turnout, civic engagement, institutional arrangements that theoretically promote accountability and safeguard rights and liberties. Yet the flaws in the democratic process are also extensive: elite dominance, institutional weakness, and widespread abuse of public office, which suggest true representation is largely illusory. Concerns about the quality of democracy have become central to political discourse in the Philippines, as seen in debates about constitutional reform and the hopes associated with the election of reform candidate Benigno Aquino III as president in 2010. This analysis examines how oligarchic structures and dysfunctional institutions threaten the emergence of true democracy in the Philippines

Accountability · Authoritarianism · Democracy · Dysfunctional family · Elite · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Representative democracy · Rule of law · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Law · Philippine History and Culture · Public Administration · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies