NEW FROM THE PRESS: Patronage Democracy in the Philippines: Clans, Clients, and Competition in Local Elections

Patronage Democracy in the Philippines: Clans, Clients, and Competition in Local Elections, edited by Julio C. Teehankee and Cleo Anne A. Calimbahin, demonstrates the persistence of political patronage in local power relations and electoral dynamics in the Philippines.

Through ten case studies of political contests in various parts of the country during the 2016 and 2019 elections, it documents how patronage takes different forms and flows through clientelistic and clan networks that are very much alive in local politics. The case studies—covering the provinces of Isabela, Camarines Sur, Cebu, Iloilo, and Lanao del Norte, and the cities of Manila, Makati, Caloocan, Cebu, and Bacolod—also provide nuanced understandings of how patronage is strategically dispensed and transformed, especially across distinctive yet changing local political contexts.

It is hoped that the volume, by mapping the shifts in patronage-driven electoral politics in the country, informs future engagements and reflections on genuine democratic reforms.

REVIEWS

“This volume’s editors and chapter contributors provide wonderfully nuanced yet theoretically informed accounts of patronage politics in the Philippines, from Northern Luzon to Mindanao. By weaving together classic and contemporary scholarship on patronage and solid local knowledge based on years of fieldwork, the book crystallizes the issues that Philippine politics confronts today. This book will inspire scholars who study Philippine politics, Southeast Asian politics, and comparative clientelism for generations to come.”

—Yuko Kasuya, PhD, Professor, Keio University

“This volume provides a rich backdrop of local narratives behind broad governance challenges of corruption, underdevelopment, and clientelistic and patronage politics. Far from painting a ubiquitous story of failure, Teehankee, Calimbahin, and colleagues successfully expose and compel the Philippine democratic struggle to adapt and to evolve. More than its traditional readership in political science, students of economic development and governance should also pick up this collection.”

—Ronald U. Mendoza, PhD, Dean, Ateneo School of Government

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