Silent Politics – How local chambers of commerce in the Philippines fail to foster democratisation

Philippine democratic consolidation stagnates despite a vibrant civil society. A comparative exploration of three local chambers of commerce in the Visayas and Mindanao reveals that, contrary to established typologies, it is the decidedly non-confrontational stance towards government that keeps the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Basanta, Thapa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pazifische Studien e.V. 2015-09-01
Series:Pacific Geographies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.pacific-geographies.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/06/PG44_Basanta-Thapa.pdf
Description
Summary:Philippine democratic consolidation stagnates despite a vibrant civil society. A comparative exploration of three local chambers of commerce in the Visayas and Mindanao reveals that, contrary to established typologies, it is the decidedly non-confrontational stance towards government that keeps the chambers as civil society actors from contributing to democratic consolidation. Further, it becomes apparent that working within the existing clientelistic political structures is the most efficient strategy for interest groups to achieve political goals, while publicly confrontational strategies, which may be most conducive to democratic consolidation, can result in heavy political and economic costs.
ISSN:2196-1468
2199-9104