Patrick Torres
The chapter critically examines Philippine politics, challenging essentialist interpretations that dominate scholarly debates. It explores three primary perspectives: the patron-client framework and its derivatives, contested democracy, and populist authoritarianism. These perspectives are critiqued for their presentation of Filipino political dynamics as falling short of “genuine democracy” as practiced in the Global North. In response, this chapter utilizes a historical and political-economic approach, tracing the colonial legacy from Spanish to American rule and its impact on modern governance. Employing a post-colonial theoretical lens, it emphasizes the continuities in functions from the colonial state, originally designed for resource extraction and political domination, to the current post-colonial state, now aligned with the interests of transnational capital. It argues that a comprehensive understanding of Philippine politics necessitates recognizing its unique historical context and position in global political economy to rise above the shortcomings of prevailing views that unconsciously undermine democratic agency. © 2025 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
Department of Political Science, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines
