The Philippines' Low Intensity Democracy

[Manila, Philippines--] Ha! In my paper on US foreign policy, democratisation and the Middle East, I stumble across this is article published in the Third World Quarterly journal. It was written in 1992 - fifteen years ago, but it could be describing what is happening this very moment.

By serependity (i.e. tadhana) this article is written by the co-author of the first ever book I've ever read on political economy - Barry Gills, and a Filipino scholar activist, Joel Rocamora.

The authors' case study of Argentina, Guatemala, the Philippines and South Korea show that the model of democracy as defined in the West is incompatible with "societies characterised by extreme concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny elite (Gills & Rocamora 1992: 514)." Here are the defining characteristics of a low intensity democracy:

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Source:

Sparks. The Philippines' Low Intensity Democracy. 21 November 2007.Caffeine Sparks Blog. http://caffeinesparks.blogspot.com/2007/11/philippines-low-intensity-democracy.html