Transforming the Weak State- Weak Society Dynamics Between the Marinduque Provincial Government and the Fisherfolk on Development Project: Towards a Policy of Democratic Co-Governanace

Abstract

The paper provided an interpretation of the transformation of the weak State- Weak Society Dynamics between the Marinduque Provincial Government and the Fisherfolk on Development projects that calls for a policy of Co-Governanace. Hans-Georg Gadamer' interpretive phenomenology was used as the methodological frame and Joel Migdal's theory of state-society relation was utilized as the substantive frame. Corresponding to interpretive methodology,the qualitative case studies of selected Marinduque government officials and selected fisherfolk' interpretation of their natural attitude and eidos of their lived experiences of the dynamics of the Marinduque provincial government and the Fisherfolk regarding the fishing development projects was employed. The findings showed that the fusion of the horizons of the government officials and the fisherfolk's interpretations of the dynamics between the Marinduque provincial government and the fisherfolk on development projects yielded a weak state - weak society relation . To construct a normative frame for the formulation of the appropriate policy, the lived dynamics can be transformed into an idealized type of a strong state - strong society by employing Weber's method of verstehen. In turn, it can be elaborated through the use of Gidden's structuration theory where the Marinduque provincial government' s structural perspective and the Fisherfolk agential perspective on the fishing development projects can be integrated. Consequently, this structure - agency integrated type of dynamics can be translated into what Archon Fung calls as policy democratic co-governanace, which consists of guidelines which require the installation of an institutionalized discursive communication mechanism between the parties, integration of government' structural economic sustainable livelihood approach with the fisherfolk's agential functions and capabilities approach in fishing development,and security of Marinduque's political maritime geography.