The Philippine Legislature Reader

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This study of the national parliaments of India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand is inspired by four major theoretical discourses: neo-institutionalism, parliamentarianism versus presidentialism, majoritarian versus consensus democracy, and transition theory. The book examines the specific role of parliaments in political decision-making, regime change, democratization, and consolidation of democracy in a comparative perspective. It argues that parliaments play a greater part in the political decision-making than is often asserted and that there is no cogent causal relationship between parliamentary performance and system of government.

First published in 2001. This study shows how legitimate elections held under centralized authoritarian conditions before 1986, though not democratic, still contributed to democratization by creating the political space needed for democratic oppostion to arise.