Introduction to Philippine Politics: Local Politics, the State, Nation-Building, and Democratization

Maria Ela L. Atienza
2013

The current volume is a set of supplementary readings that form part of the multivolume Third World Perspectives on Politics Series. The idea for the series is to come up with volumes of supplemental readings in existing political science courses in particular and social science courses in general. These readings, originally published in Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies,  adopt a developing country perspective, or more appropriately a Third World Perspective, in comparison to most readings in Philippine politics. This volume provides a number of analytical tools and frameworks that can be used as theoretical and methodological handles in the study of Philippine politics. Thus, this volume not only equips readers with the use of these analytical tools and frameworks, but at the same time, gives them a chance to assess the continuing use of these heuristic devices given the various political problems and issues in the changing Philippine political landscape. Furthermore, these readings, originally published from the late 1980s to early 2000, provide some historical and contextual background to the current problems and issues in Philippine politics. They also help readers assess if the problems, issues, and sometimes, proposed solutions mentioned by the authors continue to be relevant in the context of contemporary Philippine government and politics. Finally, the authors are not only Filipino political scientists but also Filipino scholars from other disciplines, as well as foreign scholars who have taken an interest in studying Philippine politics and comparing them with other developing countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Students will definitely benefit from the multidisciplinary and comparative perspectives of the selected readings.