SAIM AND ITS TWIN - DEMOCRATIZATION AND BOSSISM IN CONTEMPORARY THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES

Any understanding of corruption in Thailand and the Philippines must r est upon a broader analysis of the phenomenon of 'bossism' in numerous localities in these two countries. The common manifestations of bossi sm - local powerbrokers' exercise of effective monopolies over coerciv e and economic resources within defined bailiwicks - reflect the subor dination of the apparatus of the slate to elected officials rather tha n any shared features of society in Thailand and the Philippines. The peculiar variations of bossism found in these two countries are linked to distinct patterns and phasing of stale formation. Democratization since the mid 1980s has stimulated the re-emergence and strengthening of 'bossism' in both countries.