Political Science 14 (Alicor Panao, PhD) Notes, Introductory chapter on syllabus Politics can be defined in a number of ways a.

To make, preserve, or amend general rules under which people live. b. This definition recognizes 1) that there is diversity; 2) there is scarcity Politics is a loaded word (meaning, it comes with a preconception that is neither always flattering nor positive). Politics connotes something dirty (e.g. mapulitika, pinupulitika). If you notice, this is quite ironic because polis from where the word politics was derived refers to the highest and most desirable form of social organization. Scholars generally look at politics as either: Politics as arena definition - act of government; public affairs Approaches Behavioralism, Rational Choice, Institutionalism

Politics as process - compromise and consensus; distribution of scarce resources Marxism, Post Positivism

Other definitions a. Politics as art of government. An example is defining politics as the authoritative allocation of values (Easton). This definition pertains to how government responds to pressures from the larger society by allocating benefits, rewards, or penalties. i. This is a restricted view of politics ii. Power the ability to influence others iii. Authority the right to influence others b. Politics as public affairs c. Politics as compromise and consensus d. Politics as power i. Power as decision making ii. Power as agenda setting iii. Power as thought central iv. Politics production, distribution and use of resource in the course of social existence Approaches Politics is one of the ancient spheres of intellectual inquiry a. Philosophical tradition b. Empirical tradition c. Behavioralism d. Rational Choice e. New Institutionalism f. Critical approaches i. Constructivism ii. Post structuralism iii. Post modernism

Analytical tools Concept a general idea about something, usually expressed as a single word or short phrase; example, equality. As you will notice, there is a difference between a) talking about equality and b) the concept of equality. a. Concept, in a broad sense, refers to the tools with which we think, criticize, argue, explain and analyze. b. Concepts can be shifting and complex. Hence, scholars such as Max Weber suggest ideal types. c. Ideal types a mental construct in which attempt is made to draw out meaning from an otherwise almost infinitely complex reality through the presentation of a logical extreme. i. In the Weberian sense, ideal types are explanatory tools, NOT approximations of reality ii. So dont think of ideal types as true or false, only as being more or less useful. Politics can be a struggle between legitimate meanings of terms and concepts (e.g. who is really defending freedom between rebels and government forces; one persons terrorist is another persons freedom fighter. What is true justice? True Freedom? True democracy?) Model representation of something, usually on a smaller scale Conceptual model analytical tools - Theoretical representation of empirical data that aims to advance understanding by highlighting significant relationships and interactions. Theory a systematic explanation of empirical data usually (unlike a hypothesis) presented as reliable knowledge Paradigm eg. Liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism, feminism, etc. Given all these (discussed above), what kind of political system is the Philippines? Quimpos thesis - predatory regime controlled by a rapacious elite that held sway during the years of Marcos and is making a comeback in the Philippines - Philippines is a predatory regime as traditional clientilism has given way to pervasive corruption, systematic plunder and corrosion of public institutions. - There is growing authoritarian tendencies although not comparable to Marcosw regime, as manifested by centralization of power in the executive, rigged election, increased influence of the military, etc. Predatory state one where the behavior of elites is cynical and opportunistic; ordinary people are not citizens but clients of powerful local bosses, who are themselves clients of still more powerful patrons (Diamond 2008). There is a chain of dependency secured by patronage, coercion, and demagogic electoral appeals to ethnic pride and prejudice. The state exists to produce private goods for officials, their families and cronies. Hutchcrofts view of the Philippines

patrimonial oligarchic state a weak state preyed upon by a powerful oligarchic class that has an economic base outside the state but relies on particularistic access to the state apparatus as the principal means of private accumulation. Note that Quimpo uses regime instead of state as unit of analysis because: - it is too facile to label a certain state as predatory simply on the basis that for a certain period the behavior of elites has turned cynical and opportunistic. - It is only after a long period of predatory politics, after public institutions have been thoroughly corrupted, that a predatory state can be said to be in place. But he agrees with most of Diamonds description, particularly: - that corruption is the core phenomenon in predatory states (or regimes) Marcos martial law regime - patrimonial or neopatrimonial authoritarianism (Wurfel 1988) - Marcos quashed all opposition and controlled political patronage from top to bottom. - Clientilistism had been given a predatory twist with the authoritarian centralization of political patronage. Why was it difficult for the Philippines to consolidate democracy after martial law? - According to Huntington, it is because the Philippines is saddled with: o Major insurgency o Extreme poverty o Severe socioeconomic inequality o Substantial external debt o Extensive state involvement in the economy How can the Philippines rebuild its democracy? - Hutchcroft and Rocamoras argument reform of democratic institutions, particularly the creation of stronger political parties. Origins of institutional deficiencies A. William Howard Tafts policy of attraction gave opportunities for political power to elites who had already developed a strong economic base throughout major regions in the latter part of the Spanish era. i. Political tutelage limited to very small elite segment of population ii. Limited the right to suffrage Croissants view - has tendency to become delegative democracy (Philippines in the late 80s and 90s) What is a delegative democracy? It is one characterized by: a. lack of parliamentary control over the executive b. impaired judicial independence, especially from governmental interference, and c. absence of judicial review. It is so called because it aims at the full delegation of political representation of the citizens to the president, thus effectively bypassing the institutions of liberal representative democracy such as political parties and legislatures.

Croissant argues that two factors are crucial in determining the vulnerability of presidential systems to delegative democracy: a. the presidents legislative powers and b. the number, ideological distance and internal coherence of veto players Rationalist perspective - delegative democracies are outcome of intentional process initiated by presidents as rational strategy to effect a preferred alteration of the balance of political power. - Power of the president may be classified into: o Reactive powers power to block political decisions by legislature/parliament o Proactive powers e.g. agenda setting and decree powers Why is such accumulation of power unhealthy? - They undermine the liberal principle of the separation of powers. Veto player theorem capacity of different political systems to produce policy change is negatively correlated with the number of veto players, their ideological stance, and their internal coherence. - institutional veto players eg. courts, second chambers of parliament, popularly elected presidents - partisan veto players political parties that can block governments decision to effect policy change. What do studies indicate? - In presidential systems, efficient legislation is more likely when presidents legislative powers are weak, political parties are well disciplined, polarization of party system is moderate. - Party system fragmentation and lack of pro government majority increases partisan veto players. Where do Philippine presidents get reactive powers? with respect to agenda setting: - exclusive power to draft and submit national budget - to issue notes of priority to congress concerning certain bills note: president has no power to initiate legislation (unlike in Korea) Who are the veto players that Philippine president has to deal with: a. bicameral congress (with each house having different motivations or interests) b. Supreme court Note: - In the Philippines, no president has had majority control of Congress (except Aquino). But most were able to persuade legislatures to shift allegiance to the ruling camp through coalition deals. - The House is more vulnerable to this strategy than the Senate. Why is this so? The answer is in the reality of Philippine party system

presidential parties in the Philippines are not much more than ad hoc creations that seldom outlive the president a. governing party alliances lack a common programmatic or ideological core - the president may enjoy a majority coalition but not working majorities b. parties find it difficult to discipline members or enforce coherent policies because of the personalistic nature of local party chapters In fact, this is where the utility of pork barrel comes in. Alicors argument - The president is able to dominate the legislative process because of the unilateral powers vested into the office such as the power to set the legislative agenda and prerogatives over the management and control of the budget. To accomplish their goals it becomes inevitable for presidents to buy legislators support through side payments, concessions, and pork barrel politics. - Taking away pork powers from presidents may just leave them virtually spineless and government in disarray, in the absence of a strong party system.