Jose Magadia provides insight into the ways that politics is done in the Philippines. But he also illuminates an arena of politics central to all democracies. We know about electoral, parliamentary, and party politics, but only generalities about what shapes the complex arenas where interest groups, grassroots organizations, NGOs and public opinion impact the policy process, and often, shape the ... Read moreauthoritative debates. Magadia, in this book, offers a theory that begins to explain the dramatic variations in these arenas, even within one political system. It deserves careful reading. - Douglas A. Chalmers, Columbia; University Show Less