Challenges to Democratization from the Perspective of Political Inaction: Insights into Political Disempowerment and Citizenship in the Philippines
Though scholarship on Philippine politics has focused on either structures or elites, political participation and inaction have become equally pertinent issues, especially in times of political change. The Philippines shows a curious juxtaposition between high levels of electoral participation in th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034241239060 |
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| author | Anthony Lawrence A. Borja Ador R. Torneo Ian Jayson R. Hecita |
| author_facet | Anthony Lawrence A. Borja Ador R. Torneo Ian Jayson R. Hecita |
| author_sort | Anthony Lawrence A. Borja |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Though scholarship on Philippine politics has focused on either structures or elites, political participation and inaction have become equally pertinent issues, especially in times of political change. The Philippines shows a curious juxtaposition between high levels of electoral participation in the general citizenry and mass political inaction among the majority of Filipinos outside the ballot. For this reason, we would try to make sense of this paradox by analyzing political disempowerment itself and how it is linked to political participation. Hence, we raise and address the question, what challenges do political disempowerment as political powerlessness and cynicism posit against democratization in the Philippines? The trends captured in the 2nd–5th waves of the Asia Barometer Survey suggest that political disempowerment is a vicious cycle driven by perceived dis/incentives to political participation without depoliticizing citizens. Political spectatorship is the key to understanding the virtuousness or viciousness of this cycle. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-58c99cc4b2b2495097f9cef394f87809 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1868-1034 1868-4882 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| spelling | doaj-art-58c99cc4b2b2495097f9cef394f878092025-08-20T03:39:48ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs1868-10341868-48822025-04-014410.1177/18681034241239060Challenges to Democratization from the Perspective of Political Inaction: Insights into Political Disempowerment and Citizenship in the PhilippinesAnthony Lawrence A. Borja Ador R. TorneoIan Jayson R. HecitaThough scholarship on Philippine politics has focused on either structures or elites, political participation and inaction have become equally pertinent issues, especially in times of political change. The Philippines shows a curious juxtaposition between high levels of electoral participation in the general citizenry and mass political inaction among the majority of Filipinos outside the ballot. For this reason, we would try to make sense of this paradox by analyzing political disempowerment itself and how it is linked to political participation. Hence, we raise and address the question, what challenges do political disempowerment as political powerlessness and cynicism posit against democratization in the Philippines? The trends captured in the 2nd–5th waves of the Asia Barometer Survey suggest that political disempowerment is a vicious cycle driven by perceived dis/incentives to political participation without depoliticizing citizens. Political spectatorship is the key to understanding the virtuousness or viciousness of this cycle.https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034241239060 |
| spellingShingle | Anthony Lawrence A. Borja Ador R. Torneo Ian Jayson R. Hecita Challenges to Democratization from the Perspective of Political Inaction: Insights into Political Disempowerment and Citizenship in the Philippines Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| title | Challenges to Democratization from the Perspective of Political Inaction: Insights into Political Disempowerment and Citizenship in the Philippines |
| title_full | Challenges to Democratization from the Perspective of Political Inaction: Insights into Political Disempowerment and Citizenship in the Philippines |
| title_fullStr | Challenges to Democratization from the Perspective of Political Inaction: Insights into Political Disempowerment and Citizenship in the Philippines |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges to Democratization from the Perspective of Political Inaction: Insights into Political Disempowerment and Citizenship in the Philippines |
| title_short | Challenges to Democratization from the Perspective of Political Inaction: Insights into Political Disempowerment and Citizenship in the Philippines |
| title_sort | challenges to democratization from the perspective of political inaction insights into political disempowerment and citizenship in the philippines |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034241239060 |
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