Global Challenges to Democracy Report No.234
Report No.234: From Backsliding to Recalibration? Trump 2.0 and Democracy in the Philippines
Aries A. Arugay
July 21, 2025
Image: Phil Pasquini / shutterstock.com
This report analyses the three-fold impact of the Trump 2.0 presidency on Philippine domestic politics, economic sectors, and foreign policy. It argues that Trump’s restoration could reinforce authoritarian tendencies in the Philippines, undermine its economic resilience amid shifting global trade regimes and increasing economic coercion from China, and constrain its capacity for strategic autonomy within a highly volatile, uncertain, and complex international order.