University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2008 Philippine Economic And Political Development And Philippine Muslim Unrest Justin de Leon University of Central Florida Part of the Political Science Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation de Leon, Justin, "Philippine Economic And Political Development And Philippine Muslim Unrest" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 3740. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/3740 PHILIPPINE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND PHILIPPINE MUSLIM UNREST by JUSTIN DE LEON B.A. Allegheny College, 2003 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Political Science in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2008 Major Professor: Houman Sadri © 2008 Justin de Leon ii ABSTRACT Muslim culture and society has been a part of the Philippine islands in spite of nearly ninety-five percent of the population being Christian (a majority Catholic), yet did not become a separatist movement until the 1970’s. Since then, the two main separatist groups the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have been battling the Philippine government. The parties entered truces in 1996 and 2001, yet there has been a cycle of violence continues. The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), linked to Al Qaeda, emerged in 1990 and has launched many attacks on the Christian Philippine majority. The prolonged Muslim unrest in the ARMM has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. The main objective of this research paper is to examine Philippine economic and political development and its impact on Philippine Muslim unrest. This paper presents a critical analysis of the economic and political development and Philippine Muslim unrest by examining six major features of the Philippines; they are: The historical evolution, economic development, political development, socio- cultural setting, geographic setting, and the quality of life of the Filipino people. This research also examines Fareed Zakaria’s illiberal democracies theory, liberal institutionalism, and the Marxist theory of class revolution and primarily relies on research conducted at the University of the Philippines and from Philippine and Asian scholars. By taking a holistic comprehensive approach and by using international relations theory, this research fills two gaps in the literature about Philippine Muslim iii unrest. The research concludes with a look at future challenges, both short term and long term that face the country, as well as, possible future scenarios. The findings of this research are that the economic and political development and the historical evolution, though major contributory factors, are not the sole reason for the prolonged Philippine Muslim unrest. The most pervasive causal factor to Muslim unrest was the socio-cultural setting. Because of the all-pervasive nature of culture; at first glance, the socio-cultural setting was not a major apparent cause. At almost all times examined throughout this research, certain cultural tendencies guided decisions and altered the course of events more so than any other single variable. Corruption, crony capitalism, patrimonialism, and irrational institutions all stem from the tendencies of Philippine culture must be addressed to find lasting peace in the country. A move toward rational legal institutions and liberal constitutionalism, will lead the way to the creation of a liberal democracy and break the cycle of violence occurring in the Philippines. iv A sincere thank you to those who made my stay in the Philippines truly memorable. Also, in remembrance of my family who toiled and died for the betterment of the Filipino people. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to my thesis committee: Dr. Houman Sadri, Dr. Waltraud Morales, Dr. Ty Matejowsky. Also thanks to Dr. Ferdinand Uko (University of the Philippines at Diliman), Dr. Rufa Guiam (Mindanao State University, Mindanao), Mrs. Maricor Baytion (Ateneo de Manila University Press), Dr. David Houghton (University of Central Florida), and Dr. Hong Zhang (University of Central Florida). Graham Cage and Jesse Helligso who helped me greatly and to Sultana Ali, Trina Philea Pinzon, Charles Steinfurth, Theresa Gruenke, and Danielle Parsons. Also thank you to the University of Central Florida Department of Political Science, University of the Philippine Asian Center, Ateneo de Manila University Press, University of Central Florida Department of History, and the University of Central Florida Department Of Anthropology vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................. x LIST OF ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1 Methodology................................................................................................................... 2 Literature Review............................................................................................................ 5 Research in Existent Literature....................................................................................... 9 Philippine Muslim Unrest............................................................................................. 11 Importance of Case Study............................................................................................. 14 International Relations Theory ..................................................................................... 16 Illiberal Democracies................................................................................................ 16 Liberal Institutionalism............................................................................................. 20 Marxism .................................................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION ................................................................... 24 Philippine History ......................................................................................................... 25 Philippine Muslim History............................................................................................ 26 CHAPTER 3: ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT................................ 33 Economics..................................................................................................................... 34 Politics........................................................................................................................... 38 Economic and Political Development in the ARMM................................................... 40 CHAPTER 4: OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.................................................... 52 vii Socio-Cultural Setting................................................................................................... 52 Influence of Islam ..................................................................................................... 52 Hierarchical/Patrimonial Social Structure ................................................................ 54 Geographic Setting........................................................................................................ 60 Quality of Life............................................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 66 Economic and Political Development........................................................................... 66 Historical Evolution...................................................................................................... 69 Socio-Cultural Setting................................................................................................... 71 Hierarchical/Patrimonial Social Structure ................................................................ 71 Philippine Islamic Culture ........................................................................................ 76 Culture Affecting Conflict Resolution Approach..................................................... 77 International Relations Theory ..................................................................................... 85 Illiberal Democracy .................................................................................................. 86 Liberal Institutionalism............................................................................................. 89 Marxism .................................................................................................................... 90 Prospects for the Future ................................................................................................ 94 Short-Term...............................................................................................................