The Routledge Handbook to Global Political Economy, 2020
This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original... more This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details.
Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 2018
After toppling the 61-year dominant Barisan Nasional through a historic election victory in May 2... more After toppling the 61-year dominant Barisan Nasional through a historic election victory in May 2018, expectations are high for the new ruling government led by Mahathir Mohamad and the Pakatan Harapan to fulfil their promises for socio-economic reforms and regime change in Malaysia. But what have been the institutions of the prevailing regime that need to be reformed and changed? This article offers a critical review of the evolving development agendas since the 1990s of the successive governments of Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Badawi, and Najib Razak, each couched in different catchphrases: Wawasan 2020, Islam Hadhari, and 1Malaysia. A close reading of these programs suggests that their substance articulates two persistent logics: the ruling elite’s constant requirement for political stability enforced by a strong state; and, the need to adapt to the demands and opportunities of accumulation in specific phases of Malaysia’s capitalist development in the context of globalization. Th...
Driven by the logic of competition in global capitalism, digitalisation is revolutionising the wo... more Driven by the logic of competition in global capitalism, digitalisation is revolutionising the workplace, introducing both opportunities and challenges. This policy study reflects on the complex interplay between technology and work, focusing on the impacts of algorithmic management (AM) techniques on workers’ rights, dignity and well-being. Drawing on preliminary findings from an ongoing study of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies in collaboration with Nordic-based partners, which includes a review of relevant literature and consultation with stakeholders among trade unions, policymakers and academics, the policy study highlights the complexities and contradictions of AM, and the limitations of current policies and institutions in dealing with the fast-paced digital transformation. It emphasises the importance of worker agency and participation in the innovation process, proposing the need to create socio-institutional frameworks to direct a pro-labour digital transition and institutionalise co-determination as a viable solution for workers to actively engage with incessant technical changes. It concludes with a forward-looking perspective, advocating for research methodologies and problem-solving approaches that cater to the needs of diverse working contexts. The purpose is to contribute to informed policymaking that ensures a fair, democratic and humane work environment in the digital age.
Tämä teksti pohjautuu Kehitystutkimuksen päivillä Helsingissä 16.-17.2.2023 järjestettyyn paneeli... more Tämä teksti pohjautuu Kehitystutkimuksen päivillä Helsingissä 16.-17.2.2023 järjestettyyn paneelikeskusteluun. Suomen Kehitystutkimuksen seuran vuosittain järjestämän kansainvälisen konferenssin teemana oli tänä vuonna konfliktit, kehitys ja rauha. Se kokosi yli sata opiskelijaa, tutkijaa, asiantuntijaa ja käytännön toimijaa eri puolilta maailmaa keskus telemaan näistä ajankohtaisista ja tärkeistä aiheista. Paneelikeskustelussa pohdittiin Ukrainan sodan vaikutuksia sekä konfliktien ja kehityksen yhteenkietoutumista globaalissa Etelässä. Tarkoituksena oli analysoida kriittisesti euro-ja länsikeskeistä keskustelua ja tarjota siihen laajempaa näkökulmaa. Panelistit olivat tutkijanuran eri vaiheita edustavia tutkijoita, joilla on syvällistä ymmärrystä ja asiantuntemusta erilaisista maantieteellisistä ja kulttuurisista konteksteista, mukaan lukien Aasia, Afrikka, Lähi-itä ja Latinalainen Amerikka. Esitämme neljän panelistin ja paneelin puheenjohtajan välillä käydyn keskustelun kysymys-vastaus-muodossa. Alun perin englannin kielellä käyty keskustelu on käännetty suomeksi.
The Routledge Handbook of Populism in the Asia Pacific, 2023
There has been growing interest among journalists and social scientists in covering and studying ... more There has been growing interest among journalists and social scientists in covering and studying contemporary Philippines as news about the controversial President Rodrigo Duterte frequently hit world headlines. Duterte, who has assumed international notoriety yet national popularity since his astounding election in 2016, is often presented in political analyses as Southeast Asia’s representative strongman in the recent wave of global populism sweeping democracies from the West to the East. However, as this chapter explicates through an analytical framework, the Duterte phenomenon as a case of authoritarian populism, in which undemocratic politics is gaining popular legitimacy, has its own historical and conjunctural particularities. Specifically, a dozen of key defining dimensions have become manifest—in actual, conceptual, and discursive terms—during the six-year tenure, from candidacy to presidency, of Duterte’s authoritarian-populist regime.
Pokud si lze v souvislosti s vleklými pokusy o regulaci vznikajících technologií v USA a EU něco ... more Pokud si lze v souvislosti s vleklými pokusy o regulaci vznikajících technologií v USA a EU něco přesvědčivě uvědomit, pak je to skutečnost, že oligarchové z oblasti velkých techno-logií se nestarají o blaho jednotlivců, zaměstnanců, sociálně-ekonomickou situaci ani o demokracii, pokud je k tomu občanská společnost a veřejné orgány nedonutí.
If there is any compelling realisation about the protracted attempts in the US and EU to regulate... more If there is any compelling realisation about the protracted attempts in the US and EU to regulate emerging technologies, it is that Big Tech oligarchs do not care about the well-being of the individual, or the workers, the socio-economy or democracy, unless civil society and public authorities force them to do so.
After reading David Christian’s essay for the Great Transition Initiative (GTI) and getting reint... more After reading David Christian’s essay for the Great Transition Initiative (GTI) and getting reintroduced to the Big History (BH) project at this historic moment in the struggle for planetary well-being, I realize that even if earthlings and fellow species were made extinct due to more severe climate change, pandemics, and nuclear wars, the Earth and the whole system of the universe would continue to exist. A couple of BH assumptions are worthy of reflection for the GTI: firstly, that the evolution of the cosmos from the Big Bang to the present is characterized by increasing complexity; and secondly, that while the human existence and our ecosystem are fragile, humanity is distinctive for our capacity for collective learning.1 Based on the rich ideas discussed in GTI forums through the years, I reckon that the latter assumption is easily agreeable, but the former is problematic—especially its single metanarrative about the origin story.
Heinrich Böll Stiftung - Southeast Asia, Sep 23, 2022
To fact-check and counter the historical denialism of the Marcos family, there is need for a coun... more To fact-check and counter the historical denialism of the Marcos family, there is need for a counterfactual history analysis of the failings of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
Mainstream interpretations of the interplay between technology and society have revolved around t... more Mainstream interpretations of the interplay between technology and society have revolved around three theoretical frameworks: technological determinism, social constructionism, and neoliberalism. Technological determinists center technology as the driving force of history. Social constructionists regard society as the shaper of technology’s advance. Neoliberals prioritize multinational corporations and finance capital as the main drivers of technical innovation. All three agree on the progressive potentials of technology for social and economic development. However, each suffers from fundamental blind spots regarding the regressive logic of capitalist market competition, which constrains the possibility for technology-society synergy in service of human solidarity and a sustainable civilization.
Stephen Sterling’s essay “Educating for the Future We Want” provides a glimpse of his significant... more Stephen Sterling’s essay “Educating for the Future We Want” provides a glimpse of his significant contributions to studies on global education and sustainability.1 It historically charts the limited conception and passive reception of “sustainability education” (i.e., the integration of sustainability agenda into education policy, or the treatment of education as change agent for sustainability goal). The more extensive emphasis that Sterling discussed about the ideational and discursive aspects (i.e., “the epistemic sets of values and ideas”) in explaining why sustainability education is narrowly conceived and widely unrecognized may overshadow his important acknowledgement of the material circumstances (i.e., “the socioeconomic, political, and technological pressures”) through which historical progress and change originate. Good intentions for reforms and policies for transformation are not enough; progressive movements for the great transition must overcome the “very real constraints and influences that weigh heavily on mainstream educational thinking and practice.” Indeed, philosophical ideas about global education are not, and should not be, independent of real material conditions of the contemporary world under capitalism.
Unity on the Global Left: Critical Reflections on Samir Amin's Call for a New International, 2021
A case is made here for the desirability and viability of the late Samir Amin’s call for a new In... more A case is made here for the desirability and viability of the late Samir Amin’s call for a new International. However, the project to forge a political organization of the global justice movement must in the first instance draw lessons from the limitations of the recent network structure of new social movements, notably the World Social Forum, and rectify the failures of the old internationals of left-wing cadres. The actualization of such a radical idea also needs to observe the realpolitik of class formation and class struggle under conditions of the imperialistic globalization of capitalism today. Envisioned as a plural and participatory learning organization, the new International’s progression should be evolutionary and its strategic engagements have to balance the imperatives of political realism with the ideals of democratic values.
,Website. www.dir.ihis.aau.dk 1 skills, and finally the analysis sets up three possible scenarios... more ,Website. www.dir.ihis.aau.dk 1 skills, and finally the analysis sets up three possible scenarios regarding social reform initiatives which might prove important in the near future. The main purpose of the contribution is to provide a critical assessment of social policies in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Indonesia in particular, but also Malaysia and the Philippines) in a comparative perspective with the East Asian experience (Japan, Korea and Taiwan-excl. labor), and the Scandinavian experience with corporatism (incl. labor). Are there lessons to be learned from models of social provisioning, with the ultimate objective of ensuring decent and secure lives for all citizens-particularly the poor, the excluded sectors in society and the unemployed? However, given the degree of uncertainty that currently prevails, this paper will not attempt to offer definite conclusions or policy prescriptions. As a matter of fact, in terms of social welfare, equity and labor market policies the pre-crisis model of East Asia might offer lessons for the West and vice versa. Mutual learning and dialogue must be the key for future understanding and cooperation. Social Welfare in East and West-A Tranquilizer for Dialogue Lesson No.1. is that government handouts do not alleviate the underlying causes of income disparity. No.2: attempts to redress such gaps through taxation and welfare spending end up alienating the rich and fostering a debilitating dependence among the poor. Lesson No. 3: nations running chronic deficits lose their international credibility. Their competitiveness erodes, and global investors punish them by refusing to buy bonds issues by their governments unless they offer very high interest rates (Asiaweek 26
NOTE: This paper is a sketch of my PhD thesis. It only highlights key arguments and findings. As ... more NOTE: This paper is a sketch of my PhD thesis. It only highlights key arguments and findings. As such, the empirical evidence on the claims made here is elaborated on the thesis and will be presented during the conference session.
/perspectives-asia-213-mehr-oder-weniger-wachstums-undentwicklungsdebatten-asien General rights C... more /perspectives-asia-213-mehr-oder-weniger-wachstums-undentwicklungsdebatten-asien General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. ? Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. ? You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain ? You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
The Southeast Asian Games has been negatively politicised since the 1950s. It has sported a compl... more The Southeast Asian Games has been negatively politicised since the 1950s. It has sported a complex interplay of colonialism, decolonisation, nationalism, geopolitics, patronage and capitalism. Repurposing it for the well-being of individual athletes and the regional sporting culture is long overdue. Yet, to depoliticise sports toward positive purpose necessitates collective political action.
The Routledge Handbook to Global Political Economy, 2020
This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original... more This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details.
Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 2018
After toppling the 61-year dominant Barisan Nasional through a historic election victory in May 2... more After toppling the 61-year dominant Barisan Nasional through a historic election victory in May 2018, expectations are high for the new ruling government led by Mahathir Mohamad and the Pakatan Harapan to fulfil their promises for socio-economic reforms and regime change in Malaysia. But what have been the institutions of the prevailing regime that need to be reformed and changed? This article offers a critical review of the evolving development agendas since the 1990s of the successive governments of Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Badawi, and Najib Razak, each couched in different catchphrases: Wawasan 2020, Islam Hadhari, and 1Malaysia. A close reading of these programs suggests that their substance articulates two persistent logics: the ruling elite’s constant requirement for political stability enforced by a strong state; and, the need to adapt to the demands and opportunities of accumulation in specific phases of Malaysia’s capitalist development in the context of globalization. Th...
Driven by the logic of competition in global capitalism, digitalisation is revolutionising the wo... more Driven by the logic of competition in global capitalism, digitalisation is revolutionising the workplace, introducing both opportunities and challenges. This policy study reflects on the complex interplay between technology and work, focusing on the impacts of algorithmic management (AM) techniques on workers’ rights, dignity and well-being. Drawing on preliminary findings from an ongoing study of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies in collaboration with Nordic-based partners, which includes a review of relevant literature and consultation with stakeholders among trade unions, policymakers and academics, the policy study highlights the complexities and contradictions of AM, and the limitations of current policies and institutions in dealing with the fast-paced digital transformation. It emphasises the importance of worker agency and participation in the innovation process, proposing the need to create socio-institutional frameworks to direct a pro-labour digital transition and institutionalise co-determination as a viable solution for workers to actively engage with incessant technical changes. It concludes with a forward-looking perspective, advocating for research methodologies and problem-solving approaches that cater to the needs of diverse working contexts. The purpose is to contribute to informed policymaking that ensures a fair, democratic and humane work environment in the digital age.
Tämä teksti pohjautuu Kehitystutkimuksen päivillä Helsingissä 16.-17.2.2023 järjestettyyn paneeli... more Tämä teksti pohjautuu Kehitystutkimuksen päivillä Helsingissä 16.-17.2.2023 järjestettyyn paneelikeskusteluun. Suomen Kehitystutkimuksen seuran vuosittain järjestämän kansainvälisen konferenssin teemana oli tänä vuonna konfliktit, kehitys ja rauha. Se kokosi yli sata opiskelijaa, tutkijaa, asiantuntijaa ja käytännön toimijaa eri puolilta maailmaa keskus telemaan näistä ajankohtaisista ja tärkeistä aiheista. Paneelikeskustelussa pohdittiin Ukrainan sodan vaikutuksia sekä konfliktien ja kehityksen yhteenkietoutumista globaalissa Etelässä. Tarkoituksena oli analysoida kriittisesti euro-ja länsikeskeistä keskustelua ja tarjota siihen laajempaa näkökulmaa. Panelistit olivat tutkijanuran eri vaiheita edustavia tutkijoita, joilla on syvällistä ymmärrystä ja asiantuntemusta erilaisista maantieteellisistä ja kulttuurisista konteksteista, mukaan lukien Aasia, Afrikka, Lähi-itä ja Latinalainen Amerikka. Esitämme neljän panelistin ja paneelin puheenjohtajan välillä käydyn keskustelun kysymys-vastaus-muodossa. Alun perin englannin kielellä käyty keskustelu on käännetty suomeksi.
The Routledge Handbook of Populism in the Asia Pacific, 2023
There has been growing interest among journalists and social scientists in covering and studying ... more There has been growing interest among journalists and social scientists in covering and studying contemporary Philippines as news about the controversial President Rodrigo Duterte frequently hit world headlines. Duterte, who has assumed international notoriety yet national popularity since his astounding election in 2016, is often presented in political analyses as Southeast Asia’s representative strongman in the recent wave of global populism sweeping democracies from the West to the East. However, as this chapter explicates through an analytical framework, the Duterte phenomenon as a case of authoritarian populism, in which undemocratic politics is gaining popular legitimacy, has its own historical and conjunctural particularities. Specifically, a dozen of key defining dimensions have become manifest—in actual, conceptual, and discursive terms—during the six-year tenure, from candidacy to presidency, of Duterte’s authoritarian-populist regime.
Pokud si lze v souvislosti s vleklými pokusy o regulaci vznikajících technologií v USA a EU něco ... more Pokud si lze v souvislosti s vleklými pokusy o regulaci vznikajících technologií v USA a EU něco přesvědčivě uvědomit, pak je to skutečnost, že oligarchové z oblasti velkých techno-logií se nestarají o blaho jednotlivců, zaměstnanců, sociálně-ekonomickou situaci ani o demokracii, pokud je k tomu občanská společnost a veřejné orgány nedonutí.
If there is any compelling realisation about the protracted attempts in the US and EU to regulate... more If there is any compelling realisation about the protracted attempts in the US and EU to regulate emerging technologies, it is that Big Tech oligarchs do not care about the well-being of the individual, or the workers, the socio-economy or democracy, unless civil society and public authorities force them to do so.
After reading David Christian’s essay for the Great Transition Initiative (GTI) and getting reint... more After reading David Christian’s essay for the Great Transition Initiative (GTI) and getting reintroduced to the Big History (BH) project at this historic moment in the struggle for planetary well-being, I realize that even if earthlings and fellow species were made extinct due to more severe climate change, pandemics, and nuclear wars, the Earth and the whole system of the universe would continue to exist. A couple of BH assumptions are worthy of reflection for the GTI: firstly, that the evolution of the cosmos from the Big Bang to the present is characterized by increasing complexity; and secondly, that while the human existence and our ecosystem are fragile, humanity is distinctive for our capacity for collective learning.1 Based on the rich ideas discussed in GTI forums through the years, I reckon that the latter assumption is easily agreeable, but the former is problematic—especially its single metanarrative about the origin story.
Heinrich Böll Stiftung - Southeast Asia, Sep 23, 2022
To fact-check and counter the historical denialism of the Marcos family, there is need for a coun... more To fact-check and counter the historical denialism of the Marcos family, there is need for a counterfactual history analysis of the failings of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
Mainstream interpretations of the interplay between technology and society have revolved around t... more Mainstream interpretations of the interplay between technology and society have revolved around three theoretical frameworks: technological determinism, social constructionism, and neoliberalism. Technological determinists center technology as the driving force of history. Social constructionists regard society as the shaper of technology’s advance. Neoliberals prioritize multinational corporations and finance capital as the main drivers of technical innovation. All three agree on the progressive potentials of technology for social and economic development. However, each suffers from fundamental blind spots regarding the regressive logic of capitalist market competition, which constrains the possibility for technology-society synergy in service of human solidarity and a sustainable civilization.
Stephen Sterling’s essay “Educating for the Future We Want” provides a glimpse of his significant... more Stephen Sterling’s essay “Educating for the Future We Want” provides a glimpse of his significant contributions to studies on global education and sustainability.1 It historically charts the limited conception and passive reception of “sustainability education” (i.e., the integration of sustainability agenda into education policy, or the treatment of education as change agent for sustainability goal). The more extensive emphasis that Sterling discussed about the ideational and discursive aspects (i.e., “the epistemic sets of values and ideas”) in explaining why sustainability education is narrowly conceived and widely unrecognized may overshadow his important acknowledgement of the material circumstances (i.e., “the socioeconomic, political, and technological pressures”) through which historical progress and change originate. Good intentions for reforms and policies for transformation are not enough; progressive movements for the great transition must overcome the “very real constraints and influences that weigh heavily on mainstream educational thinking and practice.” Indeed, philosophical ideas about global education are not, and should not be, independent of real material conditions of the contemporary world under capitalism.
Unity on the Global Left: Critical Reflections on Samir Amin's Call for a New International, 2021
A case is made here for the desirability and viability of the late Samir Amin’s call for a new In... more A case is made here for the desirability and viability of the late Samir Amin’s call for a new International. However, the project to forge a political organization of the global justice movement must in the first instance draw lessons from the limitations of the recent network structure of new social movements, notably the World Social Forum, and rectify the failures of the old internationals of left-wing cadres. The actualization of such a radical idea also needs to observe the realpolitik of class formation and class struggle under conditions of the imperialistic globalization of capitalism today. Envisioned as a plural and participatory learning organization, the new International’s progression should be evolutionary and its strategic engagements have to balance the imperatives of political realism with the ideals of democratic values.
,Website. www.dir.ihis.aau.dk 1 skills, and finally the analysis sets up three possible scenarios... more ,Website. www.dir.ihis.aau.dk 1 skills, and finally the analysis sets up three possible scenarios regarding social reform initiatives which might prove important in the near future. The main purpose of the contribution is to provide a critical assessment of social policies in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Indonesia in particular, but also Malaysia and the Philippines) in a comparative perspective with the East Asian experience (Japan, Korea and Taiwan-excl. labor), and the Scandinavian experience with corporatism (incl. labor). Are there lessons to be learned from models of social provisioning, with the ultimate objective of ensuring decent and secure lives for all citizens-particularly the poor, the excluded sectors in society and the unemployed? However, given the degree of uncertainty that currently prevails, this paper will not attempt to offer definite conclusions or policy prescriptions. As a matter of fact, in terms of social welfare, equity and labor market policies the pre-crisis model of East Asia might offer lessons for the West and vice versa. Mutual learning and dialogue must be the key for future understanding and cooperation. Social Welfare in East and West-A Tranquilizer for Dialogue Lesson No.1. is that government handouts do not alleviate the underlying causes of income disparity. No.2: attempts to redress such gaps through taxation and welfare spending end up alienating the rich and fostering a debilitating dependence among the poor. Lesson No. 3: nations running chronic deficits lose their international credibility. Their competitiveness erodes, and global investors punish them by refusing to buy bonds issues by their governments unless they offer very high interest rates (Asiaweek 26
NOTE: This paper is a sketch of my PhD thesis. It only highlights key arguments and findings. As ... more NOTE: This paper is a sketch of my PhD thesis. It only highlights key arguments and findings. As such, the empirical evidence on the claims made here is elaborated on the thesis and will be presented during the conference session.
/perspectives-asia-213-mehr-oder-weniger-wachstums-undentwicklungsdebatten-asien General rights C... more /perspectives-asia-213-mehr-oder-weniger-wachstums-undentwicklungsdebatten-asien General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. ? Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. ? You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain ? You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
The Southeast Asian Games has been negatively politicised since the 1950s. It has sported a compl... more The Southeast Asian Games has been negatively politicised since the 1950s. It has sported a complex interplay of colonialism, decolonisation, nationalism, geopolitics, patronage and capitalism. Repurposing it for the well-being of individual athletes and the regional sporting culture is long overdue. Yet, to depoliticise sports toward positive purpose necessitates collective political action.
Abstract:
Through an analysis of news reports, public debates, survey results, speeches and polic... more Abstract: Through an analysis of news reports, public debates, survey results, speeches and policy documents, the concepts of emergent authoritarian populism in the Philippines and the enduring authoritarian neoliberalism in Malaysia will be developed. The first part of the presentation will elucidate the significant features of the process through which the new regime of authoritarian populism is taking shape in the Philippines, and conclude that the dying EDSA-type liberal democracy has been a spawning ground for the popularity of Duterte’s authoritarian politics. The second part will unpack the historical trajectory and prevailing institutions of Malaysia’s neoliberal economy embedded in an authoritarian political framework – which shall serve as initial conditions, normative indicators and benchmarks against which the promises for regime change of Mahathir and his Reformasi allies must be evaluated. Based on these studies in contemporary Southeast Asia, the seminar will comparatively reflect upon the contradictory trends of cases in which a democratic route has been taken to either legitimize or overcome authoritarianism.
Short bio: Bonn Juego is postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, with interdisciplinary teaching responsibilities in the social, political and economic sciences of development issues. He is visiting fellow at SEARC, City University of Hong Kong during the autumn of 2018, and has held guest researcher positions at the Department of Political Science, Aalborg University, and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, University of Copenhagen. His recent publications and research endeavours are on contemporary Philippines and Malaysia, the political economy of the ASEAN Economic Community project, the challenge of right-wing populism and nationalism in Asia and Europe, the concept of authoritarian neoliberalism, and the new privatization of global development finance. His talk is based on two recent publications: “The Philippines 2017: Duterte-led Authoritarian Populism and Its Liberal-Democratic Roots” (Asia Maior, 2018) and “The Institutions of Authoritarian Neoliberalism in Malaysia: A Critical Review of the Development Agendas Under the Regimes of Mahathir, Abdullah, and Najib” (ASEAS, 2018).
This talk was later published into an article:
Juego, Bonn (2018) "The Philippines 2017: Dutert... more This talk was later published into an article:
Juego, Bonn (2018) "The Philippines 2017: Duterte-led Authoritarian Populism and Its Liberal-Democratic Roots," in Asia Maior 2017, Vol. XXVIII, pp. 129-164.
A year after his phenomenal rise to power, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continues to be a... more A year after his phenomenal rise to power, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continues to be a popular yet controversial political figure. The seminar will reflect upon Duterte’s abiding national popularity amid growing local and international oppositions against his political style and policy choices. It will do so by examining the strengths and contradictions of Duterte’s particular type of populism that cuts across classes, genders, generations, and the political spectrum. Accordingly, it will try to assess contemporary Philippine society, politics, and economy by evaluating Duterte’s anti-elite campaign rhetoric during the elections vis-à-vis the actual and potential consequences of his actions as the governing elite in power. Issues to be discussed in the seminar will include: the limits of Duterte’s police-centric war on drugs; the domestic and geopolitical implications of his pro-China foreign relations strategy; the prospects for ASEAN regionalism under his chairmanship; the state of the government’s peace negotiations with the armed communist rebels and Islamic separatist groups; and an economic forecast for the country’s growth and development.
Organizers of the open seminar: Forum on Asian Studies – Department of Political Science, Stockholm University; ABF Stockholm – Arbetarnas Bildningsförbund; and Olof Palme International Center
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Papers by Bonn Juego
Through an analysis of news reports, public debates, survey results, speeches and policy documents, the concepts of emergent authoritarian populism in the Philippines and the enduring authoritarian neoliberalism in Malaysia will be developed. The first part of the presentation will elucidate the significant features of the process through which the new regime of authoritarian populism is taking shape in the Philippines, and conclude that the dying EDSA-type liberal democracy has been a spawning ground for the popularity of Duterte’s authoritarian politics. The second part will unpack the historical trajectory and prevailing institutions of Malaysia’s neoliberal economy embedded in an authoritarian political framework – which shall serve as initial conditions, normative indicators and benchmarks against which the promises for regime change of Mahathir and his Reformasi allies must be evaluated. Based on these studies in contemporary Southeast Asia, the seminar will comparatively reflect upon the contradictory trends of cases in which a democratic route has been taken to either legitimize or overcome authoritarianism.
Short bio:
Bonn Juego is postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, with interdisciplinary teaching responsibilities in the social, political and economic sciences of development issues. He is visiting fellow at SEARC, City University of Hong Kong during the autumn of 2018, and has held guest researcher positions at the Department of Political Science, Aalborg University, and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, University of Copenhagen. His recent publications and research endeavours are on contemporary Philippines and Malaysia, the political economy of the ASEAN Economic Community project, the challenge of right-wing populism and nationalism in Asia and Europe, the concept of authoritarian neoliberalism, and the new privatization of global development finance. His talk is based on two recent publications: “The Philippines 2017: Duterte-led Authoritarian Populism and Its Liberal-Democratic Roots” (Asia Maior, 2018) and “The Institutions of Authoritarian Neoliberalism in Malaysia: A Critical Review of the Development Agendas Under the Regimes of Mahathir, Abdullah, and Najib” (ASEAS, 2018).
Juego, Bonn (2018) "The Philippines 2017: Duterte-led Authoritarian Populism and Its Liberal-Democratic Roots," in Asia Maior 2017, Vol. XXVIII, pp. 129-164.
(See - https://www.academia.edu/36911234/The_Philippines_2017_Duterte-led_Authoritarian_Populism_and_Its_Liberal-Democratic_Roots)
Organizers of the open seminar: Forum on Asian Studies – Department of Political Science, Stockholm University; ABF Stockholm – Arbetarnas Bildningsförbund; and Olof Palme International Center
8 May 2017, Stockholm
Link: http://www.asianstudies.su.se/2.35480/seminars/open-seminar-the-philippines-a-year-after-the-duterte-phenomenon-1.318998#.WN0BGF7Ps6s.facebook