The paper argues that populism, though not inherently a threat to democracy as it plays a citizen's role in democratization, can tolerate democratic violations, leading to democratic backsliding through the cycle of anxiety and hope of the citizens in the Philippines. Citizens’ reliance on political promises creates a cycle of manipulation that erodes trust in institutions and contradicts how citizens should play their roles in a democratic society. Employing the Most Different Systems Design (MDSD), the paper categorized and analyzed the different characteristics of a populist leader relating to their ideas, styles, and organization of the previous Philippine presidents, particularly Joseph E. Estrada, Gloria M. Arroyo, Benigno C. Aquino III, and Rodrigo R. Duterte demonstrates the most common characteristic of the populist leaders, which is promising to resolve their declared serious crises as politics of anxiety from the current administration capturing the politics of hope. This creates a continuing cycle of democratic backsliding, which distorts citizens’ roles in democratization. Also, by determining the populist presidents’ approval ratings from the start and end of their presidential term, Duterte remained the strongest populist leader. The findings imply that as long as the populist leaders present promises to resolve the anxiety of the citizens from their declared crises, hope will keep their loyalty but will affect citizens' discernment of truth and their ability to participate fully in democratization.

Authors:
Daryl Lutero, Central Philippine University, Philippines
Zharina Marie Stephanie Lugo, Central Philippine University, Philippines

About the Presenter(s)
Mr. Daryl Tico Lutero is currently a Faculty Member of Social Sciences Department at Central Philippine University, and a Masters of Arts in Political Science student at University of San Carlos, Philippines.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daryl-t-lutero-817916278

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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