Aries A. Arugay

Aries A. Arugay, PhD

Professor and Chairperson

Bulwagang Silangang Palma
Africa Street
University of Philippines Diliman, Quezon City

aaarugay@up.edu.ph
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Aries A. Arugay is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Political Science where he has been a regular faculty member since 2004. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in comparative politics, international relations, research methods, and political theory. He has received the University of the Philippines Centennial Professorial Chair/Faculty Grant from (2015-2018 and 2020-2022) and the One UP Professorial Chair in Political Science (Comparative Democratization) for Outstanding Teaching and Research from 2016 onwards. He was also conferred the rank of UP Scientist III (2022-2024) and UP Scientist II (2019-2021).

He is also a Visiting Senior Fellow (nonresident) in the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore where he serves as Coordinator of its Philippine Studies Programme. He was previously a visiting scholar at Carter Center (Venezuela), Universidad Mayor de San Simón (Bolivia), Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), the University of Sydney (Australia), Jeju Peace Institute (South Korea), National Institute of Defense Studies (Japan), and the University of Michigan, (US).

Aries is the Editor-in-Chief of Asian Politics & Policy, a Scopus-indexed journal in political science and international relations published by Wiley-Blackwell and the US-based Policy Studies Organization. He also serves in the editorial boards of the Philippine Political Science Journal, Philippine Journal of Social Sciences and the Humanities, Voluntaristics Review, Local Administration Journal, Sinergi, Afro-Ásia, and Contemporary Southeast Asia. Aries was also elected as a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Public Safety College, a Fellow of the Social Weather Stations, and a regular member of the National Research Council of the Philippines and the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering. In 2024, he was invited to join the Global Challenges to Democracy Working Group formed by the Toda Peace Institute. He is also a member of the Democratic Erosion Consortium based in Brown University.

He was previously a fellow of Philippine-based think-tanks such as the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies and the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, Inc. For his efforts in contributing to regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand awarded him an ASEAN@50 Fellowship in 2018. As a track-two diplomacy practitioner, he has participated in over a hundred international meetings, workshops, and consultations on regional security, geopolitics, democratic governance, and ASEAN integration. He is currently a Trustee and Treasurer of the indepedent think-tank Foundation for the National Interest, Inc.

In recognition of his accomplishments, Aries received the 2019 Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement from his alma mater Georgia State University for his “exemplary and longstanding record of achievement in teaching, research or public service in the international arena”. He is the first Filipino and political scientist to receive this award. In 2020, the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Philippines awarded him as an Outstanding Young Scientist (Political Science) for his contributions to the “study of democratization processes and consolidation, security sector reform, and strategic studies in the Philippines and Asia”.

Aries obtained his PhD in Political Science from Georgia State University (United States) in 2014 as a Fulbright Fellow. He obtained his MA and BA (cum laude) in Political Science from the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science, Georgia State University, 2014
  • Master of Arts in Political Science, University of the Philippines-Diliman, 2004
  • Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (cum laude), University of the Philippines-Diliman, 2000

Research Interests

Comparative democratization; civil-military relations; international relations of the Indo-Pacific; contentious politics; social media

Recent Publications

Edited Volume/Monograph

  • Arugay, A. A. and Encinas-Franco, J. Eds. (2024). Games, Changes, and Fears: The Philippines from Duterte to Marcos Jr. Singapore: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1355/9789815203189
  • Arugay, A. A. and Baquisal, J. K. A. (2024). Accountability, Discourse, and Service Provision: Civil Society’s Roles in Security Sector Governance and Reform (SSG/R) and Sustainable Development Goal-16 (SDG-16). London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bcy

Journal Articles

  • Magcamit, M. I. & Arugay, A. A. (2024). “Explaining populist securitization and Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-establishment Philippine foreign policy.” International Affairs, 100(5), 1877–1897. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiad248
  • Arugay, A. A. & Baquisal, J. K. A. (2023). “Bowed, Bent, & Broken: Duterte’s Assaults on Civil Society in the Philippines.” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 42(3), 328-349. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034231209504
  • Arugay, A. A. & Baquisal, J. K. A. (2022). “Mobilized and Polarized: Social Media and Disinformation Narratives in the 2022 Philippine Elections.” Pacific Affairs 95(3), 549-573. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5509/2022953549
  • Baviera, A. S., & Arugay, A. A. (2021). The Philippines’ shifting engagement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative: The politics of Duterte’s legitimation. Asian Perspective, 45(2), 277-300. DOI: 10.1353/apr.2021.0001
  • Sinpeng, A., Gueorguiev, D., & Arugay, A. A. (2020). Strong fans, weak campaigns: Social media and Duterte in the 2016 Philippine election. Journal of East Asian Studies, 20(3), 353-374. https://doi.org/10.1017/jea.2020.11
  • Arugay, A. A., & Slater, D. (2019). Polarization without poles: Machiavellian conflicts and the Philippines’ lost decade of democracy, 2000–2010. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 681(1), 122-136. DOI: 10.1177/0002716218810385
  • Slater, D., & Arugay, A. A. (2018). Polarizing figures: Executive power and institutional conflict in Asian democracies. American Behavioral Scientist, 62(1), 92-106. DOI:10.1177/0002764218759577

Book Chapters

  • Arugay, A. A. (2023). “Militarizing Governance: Informal Civil–Military Relations and Democratic Erosion in the Philippines.” In A. Chong and N. Jenne (eds.) Asian Military Evolutions: Civil–Military Relations in Asia. Bristol: Bristol University Press, pp. 68-89. https://doi.org/10.51952/9781529229349.ch004
  • Arugay, A. A. & Baquisal, J. K. A. (2023). “At the Sharp Edge of Power: Philippines–China Relations and Democratic Erosion Under Duterte.” In J. Ockey and N.S. Talib (eds) Democratic Recession, Autocratization, and Democratic Backlash in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Springer, pp. 33-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9811-9_2
  • Arugay, A.A. (2022). “Social Accountability in Asia’s Livelihoods: The role of Sanctions and Rewards.” In: F. Nunan, C. Barnes, and S. Krishnamurthy, S. (eds). The Routledge Handbook on Livelihoods in the Global South. London: Routledge, pp. 194-205.
  • Arugay, A.A. (2022). “When Populists Perform Foreign Policy: Duterte’s China Pivot and the South China Sea Dispute.” In N. Peng and C.B. Ngeow (eds.) Populism, Nationalism and South China Sea Dispute: Chinese and Southeast Asian Perspectives. Singapore: Springer, pp. 25-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1453-9_3
  • Arugay, A.A. & Li, K.D.T. (2022). “Caloocan City: National Linkages, Brokerage, and Dynastic Balancing.” In J.C. Teehankee and C.A. Calimbahin (eds.) Patronage Democracy in the Philippines: Clans, Clients, and Competition in Local Elections. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, pp. 130-154.
  • Arugay, A.A. (2021). “Civil Society and the Security Sector in the Philippines after 9/11: Tensions between Democracy and Homeland Security.” In S.N. Romaniuk & E.T. Njoku (eds.) Counter-Terrorism and Civil Society: Post-9/11 Progress and Challenges. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 283-294.
  • Arugay, A. A. (2019). “Fall from Grace, Descent from Power? Civil Society after Philippine Democracy’s Lost Decade.” In I. Deinla and B. Dressel (eds.) From Aquino II to Duterte (2010-2018): Change, Continuity, and Rupture. Singapore: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, pp. 285-308.

Op-Eds/Thinkpieces

Courses Taught

  • Political Science 11: Introduction to Political Science
  • Political Science 14: Philippine Government and Politics
  • Political Science 143: Readings in Comparative Politics
  • Political Science 157: Special Topics in Philippine Government and Politics (Philippine Democratization)
  • Political Science 160: Society, Government, and Politics
  • Political Science 162: Politics of Change
  • Political Science 130/170: Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • Political Science 177: Special Topics in Comparative Government and Politics (Comparative Democratization)
  • Political Science 180: Introduction to International Relations
  • Political Science 199: Research in Political Science
  • Political Science 270: Comparative Politics
  • Political Science 271: Latin American Politics
  • Political Science 299: Research in Political Science
  • Political Science 320: Special Problems on Comparative Government and Politics (Democratic Erosion)
  • International Studies 290: Theories of International Relations
  • International Studies 209: Readings in International Relations
  • International Studies 261: Contemporary International Issues and Trends
  • International Affairs 202: Foreign Policy Analysis
  • Social Science 2: Social, Economic, and Political Thought