Table of ContentsIntroductionExploring Philippine Politics in an Unchangeable CountryImpact of Ferdinand Marcos as a LeaderChallenges to Philippine Democracy and SocietyAftermath of Ferdinand MarcosConclusionReferencesIntroductionThe Book “A Changeless Land,” written by David Timberman, delves into the complex political landscape of the Philippines. David Timberman, a policy analyst and development practitioner with extensive experience in Southeast and South Asia, provides a comprehensive exploration of policy and government challenges. Having served as a visiting professor of political science at De La Salle University in Manila, Timberman's expertise is evident in his interest in Southeast Asian politics and political reform in the Philippines. Among his works, “A Changeless Land” stands out as a significant contribution to the understanding of the dynamics of Philippine governance and society, shedding light on the role of Ferdinand Marcos as a leader in shaping the trajectory of the nation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Exploring Philippine Politics in an Unchanging Land This book discusses Philippine politics and its elements of continuity and change over the past century. It spans from the early 1960s to 1988 and involves three distinct phases: the decline of "traditional" elite democracy, the imposition of martial law and constitutional authoritarianism under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos and, more importantly, the restoration of true democracy under Corazon. The Aquino regime. By reading the contents of this book, you will be able to understand the factor that causes continuity and change in the past Philippine context. This book attempts to provide some of the understanding of past political developments and events that occurred in the Philippines. In chapters 1 to 3, the author explained the features of traditional pre-martial law government, the politics and socio-economic changes that were the factors in the imposition of martial law. The author believed that traditional elite-led democracy was not really flawed or flawed. For him, democracy is failing because of the inability of citizens to truly commit to democratic systems within traditional political and economic leaders. In chapters 4 and 5, the author discusses the success and fall of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He explains how important the Marcos administration is for the changes it brought to the nature of Philippine politics and government. He discussed Marcos in significant detail due to his significant influence in politics, governance and economics during the Aquinos administration and especially in our times. Finally, in chapters 6 to 11, the author describes how Corazon Aquino moved from Marcos' authoritarian regime to a democratic government. It also showed the underlying factors that cause the restoration of democratic government very similar to the pre-martial law period or traditional democratic government.Impact of Ferdinand Marcos as a leaderA few years ago, major changes and important events have taken place in Philippine politics and society. When Marcos was named president, Ferdinand Marcos rose to power by pushing to keep the company afloat. He encouraged the country to move towards change and made the country prosperous. However, despite the positive outcome, we all know that there were many acts of violence and injustice.The declaration of martial law by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 marked great history in the Philippines. He also claimed that his authoritarian regime was leading a revolution to create a new society. The collapse of the Marcos administration in February 1986 was due to a sustained campaign of civil resistance against the Marcos regime, characterized by violence and alleged electoral fraud. It was the People Power Revolution led by Corazon Aquino, the widow of the assassinated Benigno Aquino Jr.. by the Marcos regime which sparked the said revolt. The nonviolent revolution led to the imposition of Ferdinand Marcos, the end of his 21-year rule and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. The election of Cory Aquino as president after the fall of the Marcos regime brought about the restoration of democracy and change after fourteen years of dictatorship. With little to no knowledge, she was able to rule the country after Marcos. However, with these changes occurring, it is undeniably sad that Philippine society is characterized by poverty, injustice, and inequality, especially on the government side. on the governance of the people. We may be democratic in newspapers, but we are not democratic in practice. Although the country is democratic, it has failed to develop it into a practical form capable of solving the country's social problems. According to Timberman, this was not a failure of democracy, but rather a failure of the people to engage with it. There is also a long history of Philippine politics, society and economy being dominated by a group of small, conservative elite families. Additionally, predictable accusations of election fraud, corruption, vote buying, nepotism and incompetence on the part of the Philippine government. Moreover, with the series of events that happened in Philippine history, why did it bring little or nothing change? ? Why has Philippine society suffered from poverty and injustice for a long time and failed to bring about any radical change? The effects of the change and Filipinos' attitudes toward it are mixed. The continuity and change of the Philippines is the transition of its government from an authoritarian type of government to a democratic type of government. The transition from authoritarian to democratic government has been one of world government, particularly in Asia. However, in the Philippine context, it is different from others because it is the society that tried to bring its government back to a democratic government. Cory Aquino's administration of political reform assumed that the restoration of democratic government was desirable and possible.Challenges to Philippine Democracy and SocietyThe author also discussed the political culture which can explain the attitude of Filipinos towards politics. In order to better understand Filipino society and its culture, we must also recognize their political culture. Political culture is society's views and opinions about politics, how it responds to its government, and its effects on its society. Society and culture can change over time. According to Lucian Pye, "culture undoubtedly plays an important role, to some indeterminate extent, in shaping the aspirations and fears, preferences and prejudices, priorities and expectations of a people confronted with the challenges of social change and policy ". Culture is embedded in our history through the years of colonialism, but we fail to recognize it. According to Almond and Powell, political culture "is the pattern of individual attitudes and orientations toward politics amongmembers of a political system. It is the subjective domain that underlies and gives meaning to political actions. Identifying the political culture of a nation can help us explain the political behavior of Philippine society. After the fall of the Marcos administration, society has great problems with distrust of the government. This is due to Marcos' questionable actions during his term. Therefore, Corazon Aquino's administration faced great problems, especially how to gain the trust of the Filipinos at that time. When one takes a closer look at the democratic government of the Philippines before martial law, one truly realizes the effectiveness and fairness of the traditional elite democracy run by the ruling elite families. It was after the Philippines gained independence from American colonization that the elite took up the challenge of proving themselves worthy of governing the Filipino people. Families with huge investments in land and industry often control political and economic power. This group of elite families still holds power today. Different elite families have emerged throughout Philippine history and some argue that the country's history can be seen as a competition between these families (Euginio, 2012). By looking at the elements of continuity and change in the Philippines, and what the author What I am trying to convey to the readers is that he aims to explain four important things. First, it seeks to place the administration of Marcos and Aquino in a much broader historical context. Second, it attempts to present a comprehensive history of early Philippine government and politics, particularly during the era of Marcos and Aquino. Third, it attempts to explain the restoration of democratic government under the administration of Corazon Aquino. Finally, attempts to move beyond the dominant approaches in current Philippine politics and pay more attention to the country's policies and institutions. The Aftermath of Ferdinand MarcosAfter fourteen years of Marcos' authoritarian rule, a traditional style of democracy re-emerged. . Obviously, no society is immutable; there have been a number of changes in the traditional model of government and politics. The author's assessment of Aquino's democratic administration is that it brought many changes that plague Philippine society today. President Corazon Aquino has given the country the tortuous and difficult task of rebuilding the country after the problems created by the Marcos dictatorship. The 1986 revolution was hoped and expected to lead to long-term changes in the country's political system. His administration demanded participatory democracy, peace and economic growth. One of his goals was to get rid of the pro-Marcos and Marcos-like projects and that was one of the major problems of the Aquinos administration, but they still failed. “The traditional democracy restored by President Corazon Aquino is not inherently unstable or unsustainable,” Timberland said. We completely agree, because when Aquino was sworn in as president, she faced multiple challenges after the imposition of President Ferdinand Marcos. These problems are the bankruptcy of the national government, foreign debts and the loyalty of citizens to the deposed President Marcos. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized document now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion The changes and the inability of this country to adapt to the changes have greatly affected.