Description
This paper contributes to the conference’s theme of global cooperation in times of crisis by responding to a particular question: “to what extent does a two-level (international and internal) patron-client framework explain Philippine responses to the COVID-19 pandemic? The paper is divided into four parts – first, the paper reviews literature on patron-client state relations and on domestic patron-client structures. Second, the paper applies Carney’s (1989) characterisation of international patron-client relationships to Sino-Philippine relations at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Carney, patron-client relationships involve asymmetry (uneven resources of the two states), affectivity (client’s loyalty to the patron due to benefits received), compliance (patron’s expectation from the client), and reciprocity (patron’s compliance to client preferences and needs). The third part of the paper analyses Philippine COVID-19 responses using Lande’s (1965) pioneering patron-client framework which claims that organised interest groups do not influence Philippine polity more than a network of mutual aid relationships between vertical dyadic ties. The paper utilises discourse analysis on President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncements on COVID-19 vaccination. The paper brings to light limitations and advantages of using the interplay between patron-client relations outside and within the state in explaining the Philippine response to the pandemic.
