Skip to main content
Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives 2023

Review of The Drama of Dictatorship: Martial Law and the Communist Parties of the Philippines

  • Reviewer

    Rommel A. Curaming
    Universiti Brunei Darussalam
    [email protected]

  • Volume

    2023: 133—138

  • Type

    Book Review

  • Excerpt

    The book, Drama of Dictatorship: Martial Law and the Communist Parties of the Philippines, is a decisive and timely intervention in the still-ongoing, fiery debates. In my view, it is an exemplar of a nuanced and meticulous approach to the history of the Marcos era, which is a rarity in the scholarship on this period. Rather than the one-dimensional, black-or-white teleology of good and evil that is common in the Marcos era historiography, each chapter pulsates with the complexity and dynamism of a compelling historical account. This does not mean that the book will have the final word, as several of its claims and conclusions are likely to be debated for years to come. Nonetheless, this book forces proponents of both the Golden and the Dark Age narratives to reconsider their beliefs. They will find it challenging to uphold the simplistic, highly selective, and moralistic character of such narratives.

  • Keywords

    N/A

  • Citation

    Curaming, Rommel A. 2023. Review of The Drama of Dictatorship: Martial Law and the Communist Parties of the Philippines” by Joseph Scalice. Philippine Journal of Public Policy: Interdisciplinary Development Perspectives 2023: 133—138. https://cids.up.edu.ph/drama-dictatorship-martial-law-communist-parties-of-the-philippines-joseph-scalice-review/

  • Photo

    “Baliwagenyo welder with green hard hat working atop a petrol station metal structure 03.jpg,” FBenjr123, Wikimedia Commons