three - The Weak State Tradition

Summary

A weak state embedded in a robust and often intractable civil society has been an enduring feature of Philippine political life. This weakness of the state is reflected by its lack of autonomy from dominant social classes and powerful political families and clans; its weak and inefficient bureaucracy, particularly such agencies as the customs bureau and internal revenue; and its politicized military and unprofessional police. Rather than a state “autonomously embedded” in civil society, the Philippine state is a captive of powerful particularistic blocs.

As shown by the experience of the late industrializing economies in East and Southeast Asia, an autonomous developmentalist state served as a key factor for directing economic growth and development. This pattern of development has been most notable in the cases of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. However, drawing lessons from these countries becomes problematic for the Philippines because these strong developmentalist states emerged in authoritarian regimes. It is of course true that autonomous developmentalist states can flourish in either authoritarian or democratic regimes. With the disastrous experience under martial rule by Marcos, however, any attempt to build a more autonomous developmentalist state will have to be forged under a democratic regime to elicit the strongest political support.

The need for a relatively autonomous developmentalist state in the Philippines becomes urgent in light not only of the fractiousness of the key actors of civil society but also of the immense challenges of interacting with the rapidly changing global environment. Key reforms and changes for the necessary political, administrative, and infrastructural support for any sustained project of socio-economic growth and development require the initiative and determination of the state leadership. With the restoration of the formal underpinnings of a democratic regime, the challenge then in the Philippines becomes the reinvention of a system of governance that is not only transparent and publicly accountable but capable of providing strategic direction for political stability and economic growth.