President Duterte’s bicephalous leadership: Populist at home – pragmatic abroad

Abstract

Rodrigo Duterte won the Philippines’ 2016 presidential elections thanks to a well-orchestrated campaign and his populist appeal among Filipinos. Soon after he assumed the presidency, he surprised and upset most of his domestic and western international audiences by pragmatically rejecting the pro-Western approach followed by the previous Aquino administration and adopting a China-friendly one. Adopting Critical Discourse Analysis, this research reveals President Duterte’s bicephalous leadership: populist in domestic policies, and pragmatic but unpopular in foreign relations. To qualitatively describe the dichotomy between the populist and pragmatic nature of Duterte’s leadership, this article surveys the Philippines’ mainstream media from 2016 to 2019. Furthermore, this analysis shows that Duterte is using a defensive neorealist approach in building Philippines-China relations and that Filipinos are willing to consider China as a constructive partner for their country.

Do Filipinos Really Hate Duterte’s Leadership? Uncovering Duterte Controversies in the Philippines

“…President Rodrigo Duterte's leadership style has been defined by his aggressive and autocratic approach (Tenorio, Meyer and Nurmandi 2022). Known for his blunt and confrontational manner, Duterte has not shied away from using harsh language and making controversial statements (Montiel, Uyheng, and de Leon 2022).…”

“…Rodrigo Duterte was known for his authoritarian leadership style (Tenorio, Meyer, and Nurmandi 2022). He consolidated power and governed in a manner that has been widely criticized by human rights groups and the international community (Acayan 2016).…”

Results of the Presidential Term of Duterte in the Philippines: Domestic Advances and Interaction With Civil Society

“…В рамках своей предвыборной кампании Родриго Дутерте неоднократно утверждал, что в случае своей победы на президентских выборах будет руководить страной так же скрупулёзно, как руководил городом. Именно поэтому некоторые утверждают, что Дутерте проводил популистскую внутреннюю политику, которая способствовала высокому уровню поддержки со стороны населения страны 3 . Тем не менее, многие реформы, которые удалось продвинуть Дутерте, не были затронуты его предшественниками по различным причинам: будь то коррупция (как в случае с Джозефом Эстрадой) либо по-другому расставленные приоритеты (как в случае с Бениньо Акино III, который в период своего правления концентрировал своё внимание на противостоянии с Китаем).…”

Populism and Muslim democracies

“…More recently, Duterte of the Philippines is considered a populist leader at home; but he is seen as being more pragmatic in his foreign policy (Tenorio, Meyer, & Nurmandi, 2020). This contrasts with Holliday’s (2020) observation that Iran as a government is domestically and internationally populist.…”