About the Book This book took five years to write. The essays chronicle the six-year administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. It traces the historical roots, reasons, conflicts, and justification for his radical or progressive approach to politics. The author, according to Dr. Julio Teehankee, is the first to use a postmodern perspective and pose a challenge to the liberal interpretation of the rise to power of the first president from Mindanao. The ten essays tackle various facets of the issues faced by the Duterte administration – the war on drugs, peace in Mindanao, and the Covid-19 pandemic, among others. It puts together and take up the ideas of prominent political science scholars – including Julio Teehankee, Nicole Curato, Nathan Quimpo, Rey Ileto, Patricio Abinales, Karl Gaspar, Wataru Kusaka, John Sidel, Vicente Rafael, and Michael Cullinane. The heart of this work rests in the theory of Chantal Mouffe, who says that politics cannot be based on agreement but contestation. Radical democracy is rooted in the idea of agonism, which means that struggle is something that is inherent to politics, and not consensus. Inequalities are not just a matter of economic gap, but of the relations of power, and for this reason, rectifying the age-old injustices require moving beyond mere formalities into the more substantive approach as to the meaning of social justice. “Political leaders may disrupt the hegemony of liberal democracy but cannot achieve radical democracy alone. It is ultimately up to us if we can uphold agonism by appreciating the ideas and moralities of conflicting others. I guarantee this book provides rich wisdom and food for thought for Filipinos to advance radical democracy.” - Dr. Wataru Kusaka Tokyo University of Foreign Studies “With carefully and deeply structured chapters, this book successfully tells us what we should consider in understanding democracy in the Philippines. In analyzing democracy, it delves into the socio-political background and the colonial legacy of the past that have made possible a radical figure to rise to power.” - Dr. Juichiro Tanabe Waseda University, Tokyo “I think the significance of this book is not only the sharp analysis of Philippine politics using the recent political theories and philosophy but also its deep cultural insight. What is most interesting for me is the analysis of seeing Duterte as a Bisaya-speaking leader from the South.” - Asuna Yoshizawa Kyoto University “I should not miss to highlight the fact that Prof. Maboloc offers a fresh look at contemporary Philippine politics through the lens of Chantal Mouffe’s notion of radical politics. I must also say that Prof. Maboloc elegantly framed his arguments to the point that if readers bracket their biases, they can hardly contend with the former’s take on Duterte’s brand of politics.” - Dr. Jeffry Ocay Eastern Visayas State University About the Author Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc is an Associate Professor at the Ateneo de Davao University and a Visiting Professor for Global Justice at the American University of Sovereign Nations. He received a research grant for his project Radical Democracy in the Time of Duterte from Ateneo de Davao University in 2017. He presented his research at the Philippine Politics and Culture Conference in Nagoya University in 2018. A Scholarum Awards Nominee for Best Newspaper Column, he has written more than 100 social and political commentaries for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He was awarded the Public Intellectual Prize by the Philosophical Association of the Philippines in 2020.