 Nathan Gilbert Quimpo, Oligarchic Patrimonialism, Bossism, Electoral Clientelism, and Contested Democracy in the Philippines The patron-client, patrimonial or elite democracy, and neocolonial or dependency frameworks have been the three prominent interpretations of Philippine politics. New interpretations — the patrimonial oligarchic state, bossism, and the clientelist electoral regime — are essentially variations of the patrimonial/elite democracy framework. Both old and new interpretations suffer from a critical weakness: a one-sided, top-down view of Philippine politics. An alternative interpretation is contested democracy, combining the frameworks of elite democracy and democracy from below. Philippine politics is characterized by a contestation between a patrimonial elite that promotes a minimalist view of democracy and subordinate classes and ethnic communities that want a more participatory and egalitarian democracy. |