Date of Award

Fall 2-1-2026

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Advisor(s)

Daniel Durkin

Second Advisor

Caley Johnson, Ph.D.

Abstract

As countries in the Global South continue to achieve recognized sovereignty, hegemonic powers become eager to find other methods of control, typically through the consolidation of political, economic, and cultural means. The furthering of post-colonial efforts is facilitated by the cooperation of domestic powers, whose personal aims of power align with imperial interests of colonial-like dominance. The interaction between neocolonialism and the ruling class theory may reveal a broader issue beyond the understanding of economic and cultural expansionism as defined by the colonial period. Further, the role of the education system and the projects of docility as used by the US and ruling class may suggest a greater loss of cultural sovereignty by the institutionalization of Western ideologies and virtues. Using an economic, political, and cultural lens, my thesis argues that the interplay of internal and external forces of neocolonialism by the US and the ruling class of the Filipino elite undermines Philippine sovereignty. Utilizing the period following the independence of the Republic of the Philippines in 1946, I examine major agreements between the US government and Filipino elites to understand how dual motivations perpetuated the false perception of Philippine independence. Furthermore, I evaluate the role Americanization has played in the education system and how it is perpetuated by the Philippine government, which largely defines the hierarchical political and economic gap within the Philippine class structure. My study reveals a strong correlation between the subservience of Filipino elites and the intervention of the US government in the Philippines, which has deterred Philippine sovereignty. For the future of true Philippine independence, it is important to acknowledge and recognize past colonial and neo-colonial efforts by the US and fight through nationalistic movements for the progression of indigenous Filipino culture.

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