24 July 2023
The workshops went on from the 7th of June to the 18th of July, involving broad discussions on the aims of the WorkPolitcsBIP project, a lecture on digital ethnography by Dr. Marina Frid, readings on radical politics and platform economy, and overviews on the recent history and political landscape of Brazil, India, and the Philippines.
Dr. Wagner Alves da Silva discussed the rise of Jair Bolsonaro to the Brazilian presidency and the social forces at play in his style of governance. Rashmi Guha Ray’s presentation on India introduced the team to Nahendra Modi’s India. The discussion centred around the interactions between Hindu Nationalism and the friction it created between different sectors and institutions in Indian society. Also of particular interest was the utilisation of new ways of campaigning and messaging that led to Modi’s grip and maintenance on Indian politics. Miguel Rivera then led the discussion on the Philippines, introducing the country’s long-standing problems of elite politics and political dynasties. He also discussed the meteoric rise of Rodrigo Duterte to the Philippine presidency and how he fashioned a strongman personality, harnessing the public’s frustrations with chronic social problems to justify his bloody War on Drugs.
The team held discussion workshops to more deeply understand the Indian and Philippine contexts drawing from close reads of two books: “Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy” by Christophe Jaffrelot (Princeton University Press, 2021) and “A Duterte Reader: Critical Essays on Rodrigo Duterte’s Early Presidency” edited by Nicole Curato (Cornell University Press, 2017).
These sessions on the BIP then culminated in an afternoon workshop on the 17th of July where the DeepLab team put their heads together and explored the similarities and differences between the three leaders. The group compared various aspects, from their political histories, styles, personalities, and approaches to governance and other social institutions to their policies regarding hot-button issues. The team’s work throughout the summer studying these countries revealed surprising similarities between the three leaders that offer exciting and radical insights into how populations relate to themselves, their political leadership, and the world around them. These workshops form a shared base of knowledge that will enable the team to conduct their research more acutely, which they will share through their work in the future.
