Democracy, Legitimacy and U.S. Global Hegemony

It is an accepted convention in international relations that there is no central authority that is above sovereign states—at least formally. Hegemonic stability theory holds that a superpower state that has the capacity, will and legitimacy can and will act as the global leader for other states...

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Why the United Nations Security Council Fails

The United Nations is often celebrated as a global institution that is the ideal problem-solver of the world’s many and diverse problems; none arguably more crucial than the sphere of global security. The UN Security Council, the chief decision maker in matters of security, is the one and only...

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The Hypocrisy of International Financial Market Regulation

Photo from standwithoccupy.org Money and financial instruments are increasingly being the most mobile aspects of the international economy with the unending breakthroughs in information technology. The transfer of capital from one country to another could be done seamlessly with a simple click...

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Hugo Chavez and Venezuela: the Democratic Model for Young Democracies

Photo from telegraph.co.uk By strict Western standards and conventions, Hugo Chavez was a dictator. He violated innumerable human rights, crushed democratic institutions and imprisoned a free market economy; the caveat—by strict Western standards. It is easy to forget that definitions and...

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On the Fiscal Autonomy and Responsibility of Local Government Units

Recently, a Rappler news article reported of the Bureau of Internal Revenue's (BIR) shaming of provinces being too dependent on national government allocation without developing their own local revenue generation sources. "In its latest Tax Watch ad released Wednesday, June 18, BIR...

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The Political Economy of Inclusive Growth

Image from theatlantic.com Just days ago, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found out that the number of unemployed Filipinos increased in the last quarter of 2013 to a dismaying 12.1 million. The unemployment rate rose to 27.5 percent as 2.5 million Filipinos joined the ranks ...

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Deconstructing Duterte

The DDS and Duterte Violence: An Effect of Institutions           The new institutional perspective is aptly used in analyzing political leadership at the local government level. It deviates from traditional institutionalism in considering not only...

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What is wrong with Philippine public administration?

“Poor countries are poor not because they lack resources, but because they lack effective political institutions." -Francis Fukuyama In a recent survey, The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), a survey of expatriate businessmen, rated the Philippines an 7.57 out of a worst possible score...

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