Defining concepts

Lecture 1

 Erap was deposed in JAN 2001; Gloria Arroyo was sworn-in as new president
 She was legal president but her legitimacy was questioned

 In 2004, she was duly elected as president: legal and legitimate

 2005: "Hello Garci" scandal broke, and PGMA's legitimacy was again questioned

 4 ways for presidency to by vacancy

o Impeachment w/ conviction
o Death
o Voluntary incapacity
o Voluntary resignation
 Pres. > VP > Senate pres. Spear of the house > SC justice

 Legitimacy: Subjective notion of what is morally and ethically accepted by the people, based on
the belief of what is right, or the broad expectation of the common good ("justified and proper")
 Legal: that which is provided by the constitution

 Legitimacy of institutions
o Institutions gain legitimacy if:
 The follow acceptable procedure
 They represent the interest of people
 They are capable of limiting power excesses of officials
 They perform their mandate justly

24/01/2019 Lecture 2
 Authority: state's power to make binding decisions and issue obligatory command
 Politics: who gets what, when, and how

 People accept authority because

1. Social Contract
a. Leaders' mandate given by the people
2. Fear of sanction
a. State has monopoly of legitimate use of violence
3. Tradition and socialization
4. Charisma of leader
5. Individual utility

 Legitimacy
o Subjective notion
 Concerned with what is right, moral ,ethical
 Based on what is acceptable to the majority
 Authority
o Objective reality
  Power of state to make binding decision (laws, policies)
 Power of state to issue obligatory command (penal system)

 In a democracy, both authority and legitimacy are required to exercise power

o If legitimacy of government is questioned
 Administration would have to rely more on coercive organs of state (military & police)
to enforce its authority
 In divided society, military is the most cohesive, unified armed organization
 The existence of a legitimate government, and a strong tradition of civilian rule inhibit military
intervention
 Remember: Legitimacy is the <3 of democracy, and people participation is its life source

 Key questions we wanna answer at the end of the semester:

o How open is out political system to allow people to participate
o How ready are people to participate in governance

29/01/19

What is politics?
 Process where power and influence are used to promote interests
 Process to make binding decisions of who gets what, when , how
 Process to resolve conflicts
 Process to advance self-interests or collective welfare

Basic premises in politics

1. Conflict is always present since 2 or more parties strive to acquire the same set of resources at the
same time
2. Resources are limited, thus, need to be allocated authoritatively
3. Some individuals exercise power over others

Power
1. Ability of A to make B do something (influence, persuasion, force)
2. Ability to control the political agenda (marginalization of interests)
3. Ability of A to convince B that s/he has the same agenda with A, even if in reality it is contraty to
B's interests (false consciousness)

12/02/2019
Democracy as a Political System

 Direct democracy > participatory democracy > liberal democracy > non-democracy

Democratic deepening and consolidation

Electoral democracy (minimalist, procedural concept)

 No violence
  Genuine choices
 Honest and credible
 Leaders have limited mandate
 Universal franchise

Indicators in assessing democracy

1. Representative and accountable government
a. Free and fair elections
b. Democratic role of political parties
c. Govt effectiveness and accountability
d. Civilian control of the military and police
e. Minimizing corruption
2. Citizenship, system of laws, rights
a. Nationhood and citizenship
b. Rule of law and access to justice
c. Civil and political rights
d. Economic and social rights

STATE
 A territorially bound sovereign entity
 With people identifying themselves as part of the territory/political community;
 Enjoys sovereignty: (the state has complete authority and is recognized by the international
community as the ultimate source of law within its own boundaries

 Functional definition: the organized institutional machinery (`govt) for making and carrying out
political definitions and for enforcing the laws and rules of the government/administration

STATE GOALS
 Security: to protect the territorial and national sovereignty
 Autonomy: formulate and carry out the domestic and external policies; withstand influences,
coercion: in decision making
 Welfare: provide basic services needed by the citizens
 Status and Prestige: respect and admiration of other states

 State fragilities (can be remedied)

o Weak functional capacity (institutions)
o Lack of political will (agents)
 State Vulnerabilities (can be mitigated)
o Man-made and natural calamities, disasters, pandemics
o Global movements and forces (terrorist movement, wide-spread economic displacement,
technology/cyberspace, etc)