President Duterte’s bicephalous leadership: Populist at home – pragmatic abroad
| Author | Achmad Nurmandi,Patrik K Meyer,Christine B Tenorio |
| DOI | 10.1177/2057891120912008 |
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Research articles |
Research article
President Duterte’s
bicephalous leadership:
Populist at home –
pragmatic abroad
Christine B Tenorio
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Patrik K Meyer
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Achmad Nurmandi
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Abstract
Rodrigo Duterte won the Philippines’ 2016 presidential elections thanks to a well-orchestrated
campaign and his populist appeal among Filipinos. Soon after he assumed the presidency, he sur-
prised and upset most of his domestic and western international audiences by pragmatically
rejecting the pro-Western approach followed by the previous Aquino administration and adopting
a China-friendly one. Adopting Critical Discourse Analysis, this research reveals President
Duterte’s bicephalous leadership: populist in domestic policies, and pragmatic but unpopular in
foreign relations. To qualitatively describe the dichotomy between the populist and pragmatic
nature of Duterte’s leadership, this article surveys the Philippines’ mainstream media from 2016 to
2019. Furthermore, this analysis shows that Duterte is using a defensive neorealist approach in
building Philippines-China relations and that Filipinos are willing to consider China as a constructive
partner for their country.
Keywords
CDA, defensive neorealism, Duterte, leadership styles, Philippines
Corresponding author:
Christine B Tenorio, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Kampus Terpadu UMY J1. Brawijaya, Kasihan Bantul,
Yogyakarta 55183, Indonesia.
Email: christine.bt.pasca18@mail.umy.ac.id
Asian Journal of Comparative Politics
ªThe Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/2057891120912008
journals.sagepub.com/home/acp
2022, Vol. 7(1) 58–72
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