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Discourses and Strategies of the Global Far Right, Vol. 32 - 2025, No. 1
Performing Durable Politics: Comparing Mediated Populism in the Philippines
Political leaders articulate the language and ideology of populism to drum up support from their envisioned publics. But as populist politics is embodied in different ways, it is imperative that we account for the changing facets of populism that can shape the relationship between media and politics. The article will examine the way populism is enacted by Philippine leaders with durable political personalities. The argument is that the performance of populism is a contentious process of claim making that impacts media and democracy, one that involves a host of factors such as the rhetoric and ties of the leader with the media. The case of Rodrigo Duterte highlights rightwing, exclusionary populism and vestiges of anti-Americanism in a networked environment. Joseph Estrada’s hybrid populism reflects the rightwing and leftwing traces of populist politics mainly through film. Corazon Aquino’s pro-people power style is a centrist variant of populism that identifies with the urban population through print and broadcast media. And, Ramon Magsaysay’s pro-ordinary style is likewise a centrist variant of populism but one that draws support from the local barrio residents through direct campaigning. The styles of mediated populism can safeguard as much as endanger the tenets of democratic politics.
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