Transition pathways and democratic consolidation in the post-Marcos Philippines

• Main Author: Rivera, Temario C.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2003
• Subjects: Philippines—Politics and government—1986-; Democracy—Philippines; Political Science
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/8631
• Institution: De La Salle University

This article examines the political legacies of the transition from authoritarian to democratic rule in the Philippines and their impact on the process of democratic consolidation. The consolidation process has been particularly difficult because of a combination of the following factors: a state with weak capacities, a vibrant but contentious civil society, and a slow growth economy that has accentuated class, regional and religious cleavages. In the post-Marcos era, an outstanding feature of the consolidation process, however, has been the unusual ability of militant social movements to be part of the broader process of democratic incorporation through the electoral party-list system while maintaining their contentious politics of claim making on behalf of marginalized sectors. This unique feature constitutes an important aspect of the consolidation process that the state needs to address particularly in the context of its capacity building efforts.