Beyond Clientelism: State–Civil Society Relations in Disaster Risk Management Policymaking in the Philippines

This article examines state–civil society relations in disaster risk management policymaking in the Philippines. It analyses the extent to which civil society actors can shape policymaking outcomes and how political institutions shape civil society organisations’ strategies, methods, and perceptions in disaster risk management policymaking from the Thirteenth to the Eighteenth Congresses. Using the novel concept of “co-infiltration,” the article argues that while the institutional factors are important, these factors shape only in part the available political space for civil society and state engagement in policymaking. Instead, institutions’ role in shaping engagement outcomes is viewed as more contingent, as seen in the outcomes of different civil society organisations’ (CSOs) campaigns across different administrations. However, the push by CSOs to remain relatively independent has put them at odds with state actors in a political environment where participation and dealing with disasters have become increasingly securitised.