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Philippines

Rodrigo Duterte’s war on COVID-19 is a war on the Filipino people

Reports emerging of anti-communist attacks in cities and rural areas, arrests of activists and union members, and military action in spite of a declared ceasefire.

Philippines Beyond Clichés Series 2 # 6: We need to decongest Manila

Who has the right to live in the city? And what role can facilitated community organisation that engages all residents of the city play in determining the shape and life of the city?

Philippines beyond clichés season 2 # 5: participatory governance is a hoax   

Dr Teresa Melgar draws on her comparative research in Brazil and the Philippines to help us understand the potential of engaging citizens fully in political processes.

Philippines beyond clichés series 2, episode #4: Populist voters are deluded

Wataru Kusaka's extensive ethnographic work leads him to emphasise the importance of recognising populist voters as concrete individuals, rather than abstract others,

Philippines beyond clichés series 2 #3: ‘Tambays’ are lazy

'Tambay' are often victims of structural impediments to moving forward in life, says Professor Clarence Batan.

Philippines beyond clichés series 2 #2: The Philippines is a sexist society

Sexism in the Philippines is about "multiple overlapping issues of inequality based on class, religion, sexuality, ethnicity, and also geographic locations" as Dr Maria Tanyag discusses with Nicole Curato.

Philippines beyond clichés series 1 #1: Celebrity culture

...globally there are many places where innovation is happening in television and in other forms of media, and the Philippines is definitely one of those places.

Four years of people’s war: an assessment of the New People’s Army from 2016-2019

The end of the NPA's insurgency isn't guaranteed despite what officials say.

Sitio San Roque: in the peripheries of development

An urban poor community fight to save their homes in the face of arrests and arson.

Despite disinformation, social media in the Philippines remains a space for genuine grassroots mobilisation

Despite the rise of disinformation innovations, social media still holds genuine democratic potential.

Excusing the inexcusable: re-thinking political legitimacy in the Philippines beyond the notions of support and loyalty

The role of excusing what others find inexcusable is a crucial part of understanding Filipino politics.

The changing face of fake news

New report "Tracking Digitial Disinformation in the 2019 Philippine Midterm Election".

Millenia of maritime mastery: Philip Bowring’s ‘Empire of the Winds’

Though Austronesians operated in networks of oceanic trading that stretched from Asia to the Mediterranean for thousands of years, both the term and cultural grouping are little known.

The Philippines’ counterrevolution from above

After failing to assemble a critical mass that aggressively rallies for his policies, Duterte is leading a top-down insurgency to overturn to overturn the liberal-democratic establishment.

The Philippine midterms and the new ‘presidential bandwagon’

Duterte’s success on 13 May entrenches populism further.

The neglected promise of Marawi Rehabilitation

Two years on since Marawi's siege and the city remains in ruin. Will locals ever be able to return?

Mindanao’s future in four conversations

Interviews with Philippine youth voting for first time reveal manifold views of election campaigns

Politics and peanuts

A creative reflection on everyday life in Duterte's stronghold.

Why so serious: the limits of liberal democracy in the Philippines

Populism has left liberal democracy on the defensive. Liberals might think to adopt elements of Duterte's populist idiom.

Key issues in the midterm elections: a perspective from the Bangsamoro

Should we consider the 2019 polls as a preview of politics in the soon-to-be autonomous region?

Swipe in the name of love? Filipina agency in interracial digital dating

Despite built-in power disadvantages, women are still asserting themselves in online matchmaking.

Campaigning and killing: violence against politicians in the Southern Philippines

Data on killings reconfirm how pervasive electoral violence remains.

When illiberal social media takes over democratic Philippines

Social media has amplified, rather than created, an existing culture of disinformation.