Some Arguments for Institutional Approach to Philippine Politics I.

Working definition of institutions, institutional approach and political institution A.Institutions as rules to influence strategies B.Institutional approach from economics and political science discipline 1.Differentiate formal and informal rules 2. Alignment of informal norms and values with the formal rules in economics discipline 3. Political science discipline only acknowledges the formal rules C.Political institutions: making, implementing, and adjudicating of policies II.Importance of political institutions as a legitimate explanatory variable of political life A.Political institutions as incentives and constraints for state and social actors 1.Induce different political strategies from the actors by influencing a. ...the actors' time horizon 1.Time horizon is the actors' willingness to play by the rules of the game 2. Regime-level distinctions Time horizon in an authoritarian regime tends to be shortened because cost of losing in political competition are very high, while time horizon in a demoracy is usually lengthened. 3. Differences in institutional features Waiting for a change in leadership become higher in presidential forms of government relative to parliamentary forms of government. Fixed term found in presidentialism may be seen as potentially stabilizing the time horizon of actors. b....different patterns of representation and contestation 1.Regime-level distinctions The pressure in a dictatorship is usually for underground or extra-legal struggle and a polarization of issues, while the pressure in a democracy is for more open political struggle. 2. Differences in institutional features Democracy's electoral system: Single member district (SMD) and proportional representation (PR) 2. Different probability distributions of political outcomes a. Probability of the opposition winning the top government posts in an electoral contest in a dictatorship and democracy b.Rules for constitutional change within different democracies B.Political institutions as mediating mechanisms between the state and

social actors III. Understanding the Philippine state by the proposed institutional approach A.Studying Philippine politics using dominant conceptual approaches 1.Marxist semi-colonial, semi-feudal approach: Philippine state is an instrument of the domestic ruling classes and a puppet of its neocolonial master 2. Migdalian-inspired strong society-weak state approach: new historiography of the elite families to more accurately narrate Philippine political history 3. Webarian neopatrimonial approach: emphasis on social actors rather than on political institutions 4.hybrid approaches: only enrich the society-based approach; represent little significant in explaining role of specific design of political institutions in affecting the dynamics of Philippine politics B.Institutional approach: understand state as an ensemble of institutions IV. Analysis of strengths of institutional approach A.Central research question of an institutional approach: How does the design of political institutions promote or hinder the effects of class domination/fragmentation, or elite predation/strength, or civil society exculsion/empowerment on the Philippine state's policies? B.Political institutions to tie up state and society C....how the details of political institutions interplay with structural factors, social interests and actor strategies. V. Discussion of some recent institutional approach-inspired works A.Works about charter change (from presidential to parliamentary) B.Works that include the Philippines as a country case 1.Croissant: delegative democracy over the legislative and judicial branches in policymaking 2. MacIntyre: [i]nstitutional configurations that severely centralize power are more prone to problems... VI. Conclusion of using an institutional approach to open a new view of Philippine politics