Crime, Society and the State in the Nineteenth Century Philippines. By Greg Bankoff. Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1995. viii, 247 pp. $22.00 (paper).

Understanding family politics

“…More broadly, the prominence of families, clans and cognate informal groupings in official politics is generally seen as a function of state weakness and the mutual inter-penetration of state and social forces that occurs when the state lacks institutional integrity. This understanding has been highly influential in studies of developing-world states since works of Migdal (1988, 2001; see also McCoy, 1994: 10–19). One variant of this explanation is historical and, as explained by McCoy, concerns the sequencing of class and state formation: in countries where the development of strong landed aristocracies precedes the establishment of strong states, local states institutions are likely to be captured by powerful landed families as they come into being (McCoy, 1994: 5–6).…”

“…This understanding has been highly influential in studies of developing-world states since works of Migdal (1988, 2001; see also McCoy, 1994: 10–19). One variant of this explanation is historical and, as explained by McCoy, concerns the sequencing of class and state formation: in countries where the development of strong landed aristocracies precedes the establishment of strong states, local states institutions are likely to be captured by powerful landed families as they come into being (McCoy, 1994: 5–6). Though this version of the approach cannot explain the emergence of new political families in regional Indonesia many decades after state building commenced, their rise might be viewed as a symptom of the state’s weakness, or at least of its penetration by informal ‘shadow state’ networks that organise power outside formal rules (Aspinall and van Klinken, 2011; Hidayat, 2007).…”

“…We define such a wider grouping as a political clan . Given that in Indonesia (as in the Philippines: McCoy, 1994: 9) kinship is defined bilaterally (through both the mother’s and father’s line), and given the high birth rate until recent times, most individuals can trace massive interlocking networks of family relationships should they need to do so. In some parts of the country, such as in much of Eastern Indonesia, these kinship structures play an important role in structuring core aspects of social life (such as the maintenance of adat or custom) and are thus relatively readily mobilised for political purposes.…”

“…Extending this approach, even if the family is seen as being a relatively narrow group, it might nevertheless be widely identified as holding desirable attributes that could be useful politically. Writing on the Philippines, McCoy notes that ‘elite families … are often thought to transmit their character and characteristics to younger generations’ (McCoy, 1994: 8). There may be many political attributes of the family which are seen as being inherited and which can be beneficial politically; likewise, family membership might itself be seen as a signalling device, for example as a sign that the individual concerned has the political backing and financial support of the district head.…”

Women’s Political Representation in Indonesia: Who Wins and How?

“…In this perspective, the advantage of belonging to a political family is primarily informational. By the same token, in the Philippines, analysts of political dynasties have sometimes argued that voters support dynastic candidates when they are familiar with, and hold favourable views of, earlier politicians bearing the same family name: “elite families … are often thought to transmit their character and characteristics to younger generations” (McCoy, 1994: 8).…”