Democratization and Stabilization in the Philippines

Abstract

The coming to power of Corazon Aquino in the Philippines in 1986 represented the restoration of elite democracy after 14 years of dictatorship. Elite democracy derives its strength from the fact that no matter how cynically the Filipino citizenry might view the electoral process, most Filipinos see no alternative to the ballot as a legitimate means of political succession. Key sectors of the U.S. national security establishment understood this and shifted Washington's support from Marcos to Aquino. The Philippine left, however, misread the population, leading to its marginalization from the mainstream of national political life. Nevertheless, elite democracy in the Philippines is fragile. Filipinos have alternated between allegiance to and disaffection with elite parliamentarism. In the absence of fundamental social and economic reforms, a new round of disaffection may already have begun.