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Political inequality may cultivate grievances against the government and eventually provoke conflict. In the Philippines, this is reflected in the prevalence of political dynasties. Often these dynasties face deep conflicts of interest as they prioritize clientelist ties over the public good, and act as bosses in their local constituencies. Through regression analysis, this paper finds robust statistical evidence that two out of three measures of political dynasty persistence are positively associated with political violence. Results suggest that a concentration of power leads to weaker governance and worse development outcomes, excludes critical sectors, and ultimately provokes political violence. The study emphasizes the importance of promoting checks and balances for more inclusive and peaceful development in emerging democracies such as the Philippines.
Keywords political dynasties, Philippines, political violence, conflict, bossism
(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
Introduction
The Philippines has a long-standing history of political violence and high terrorism risk linked to the Moro rebellion that can be traced as far back as the Spanish colonial period. The Philippines is also home to the longest running communist insurgency in Asia (Robles 2019). The rising threat of cross-border terrorism and local militant groups pledging alliance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has also exacerbated the situation in the Southern Philippines (Panes 2016). Interestingly, instances of violent conflict are concentrated in parts of the country that are also plagued by dynastic persistence (International Crisis Group 2011a). Some of these political clans are also known to maintain their own private armies and foment violence to further their political aims. We then turn to the question "Do areas with bad governance and chronic underdevelopment provide fertile ground for violence and extremism?"
From the national security policy standpoint, understanding the link between political inequality and political violence in the Philippines could provide a different perspective on how best to address the persistence of political violence. In the view of political analysts and human rights organizations, the Philippine government's highly militarized approach has failed to curb terrorism in the country and likely exacerbated abuses like the unlawful killings of activists, civilians and journalists who were believed to be victims of red-tagging (Amnesty International 2021; Beltran 2020; Human Rights Watch 2022; Lischin 2020). Studying what factors could be at play in...