Since his election in 2016, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has directed a brutal anti-drug campaign rife with extrajudicial killings. Interpreting the war on drugs through the conceptual frameworks of penal populism, noble cause corruption, revanchism, and state terrorism, William N. Holden argues the war on drugs has failed to achieve its purpose, follows trends of authoritarian populism, and overlooks a more pressing social issue—the vulnerability of the Philippines to climate change.
William N. Holden is associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary and research associate with the Canadian Institute of Resources Law.
Chapter 1: Conceptual FrameworkChapter 2: The PhilippinesChapter 3: Illegal Drugs in the PhilippinesChapter 4: The Rise of DuterteChapter 5: The War on Drugs in the PhilippinesChapter 6: The War on Drugs Within the Conceptual FrameworkChapter 7: The Response to the War on DrugsChapter 8: The Failure of the War on DrugsChapter 9: The War on Drugs in a Changing ClimateChapter 10: Fear and Loathing in the Age of Anger
This is a well-written and powerful book that critically engages with the political economy of Duterte’s authoritarian populism and horrifically violent 'war on drugs' in the Philippines. A highly recommended read!