Civil Society in the Philippines: Theoretical, Methodological and Policy Debates

This book provides a path-breaking account of civil society using the case study of the Philippines. Critically engaging with theoretical, methodological and policy debates on the analysis of civil society in the development studies, political science and sociology literature, it offers the first comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, empirically-based, national-level portrait of civil society.In challenging the widespread belief that civil society is an institutional arena in which the poor and marginalized can challenge and reverse their social, economic and political disempowerment, the author argues that civil society is characterised by structural inequalities that echo spatial and income inequalities. It thus compounds poverty and primarily empowers urban-based professionals and their families. Focusing on the Philippines, a country renowned for a vibrant civil society which first emerged under American colonial rule (1898-1946) and which remerged from 1986 after 14 years of authoritarian rule, the author traces the reasons for this extensive civil society and its political, economic and social implications and draws comparison to other developing countries.