What is the role of civil society in RP?

Our professor warned the class from the start that today's lessons was going to be boring because we were supposed to discuss Philippine history. I am no expert in history but I know a thing or two about our nations past. Browsing through her powerpoints on the lesson, I recognized a lot of events and people but there were also some that were new to me. Now with a refreshed mind on the topic, it got me thinking what is the role of civil society in RP? Having a majority of our population which are culturally strong, the civil society brings the Filipinos closer because they have the same purpose and goal. It can also influence the other bodies in society which in turn can make the whole society a whole lot stronger. With this kind of society, our nation can grow and withstand anything that they face.

How does the world behave?

Today was our first learning session and it was all about Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism. Apart from the readings given, I gained an in depth understanding of the topics from our circle seated discussion because I had the chance to listen to my classmates different interpretations of the topics. Spending more or less 2 hours on discussion, the professor was able to summarize all our points into 2 ideas which were Positivism and Post Positivism. I gained a lot of ideas and insights from what she discussed and it made me question How does the world really behave? Do we base our actions from the ideologies we follow? or do we let society dictate how we should behave? The answer may be the first option or the second one but one things for sure, it can't be both.

My expectations in Phifocy

New subject, new lessons, new understanding. When I enrolled in this class, just based from the name "Philippine Foreign Policy" I had the impression that this class was going to be really hard. I have not enrolled in all of the the major subjects I needed to enroll in for the past terms because I had to cut back on the number of my units. Due to this fact, my knowledge in International Studies compared to my batchmates is narrower and basic. After a few months or so I expect to learn not only foreign policies but possibly also about negotiations and agreements with international bodies. From what I know foreign policy is not only limited to laws but also it covers interactions and relations of a country to its fellow members in a body for example international organizations, religious groups and communities. What I want to gain in this subject is not only knowledge on the subject matter but also strategies in creating strong relationships with favored partners. I expect that the professor will help and guide me throughout my learning process in the next few months.