Pluralism, development and the state: The Philippine experience

• Main Author: Rivera, Temario C.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2005
• Subjects: Philippines—Social policy; Philippines—Economic conditions; Philippines—Politics and government; Separatist movements—Philippines; Democracy—Philippines; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/8637
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper examines the bases of major divisions and conflict rooted in the Philippine experience of state formation and economic development that have made it difficult to sustain a working pluralist system. In particular, the Muslim secessionist movement, the communist armed movement, the politicization of the military and recurrent class-based antagonisms are analyzed as the severe manifestations of these socio-economic , cultural and political divisions. The first part of this paper examines the historical and socio-economic roots of the major lines of conflict and division in the context of the country's experience of nation-building. This will be followed by a discussion of how these major fault lines have been affected by the process of globalization. I conclude with an analysis of current rends and their implications on the prospects of achieving a more cohesive and stable society.