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Call for Papers: Special Issue on EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

The special issue aims to contribute to critical and comparative discussions on EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres in the Philippines—at no more opportune time than their upcoming twenty-fifth anniversary in 2026. It seeks to theorize and problematize the various conceptions and ideas surrounding EDSA by reappraising its two interconnected “sequels” that occurred in 2001.

Over time, the terms “EDSA” and “People Power” have often been associated with regime change and are frequently celebrated as symbols of democratic triumph in many segments of the national consciousness. It entered the national political imaginary during the 1986 People Power Revolution (also called the “EDSA Revolution” or “EDSA Uno”), which toppled Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship. Although initially a shorthand for Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, EDSA is no longer just a physical space for congregation. “EDSA” has come to contain the affective weight of both collective indignation and hopefulness for political change through the people, regardless of class and identity.

At the same time, the constructed significance of EDSA rendered it a heavily regulated and idealized concept, setting expectations and drawing boundaries of political mobilization done in its name. Any movement or political moment invoking EDSA is inscribed with the burden of conforming to People Power’s mythos, with nonconforming instances subjected to delegitimization. It is within such a context that “EDSA Dos,” as it was happening, emerged as a perceived continuation of the legacy of peaceful revolution—a worthy sequel that reaffirmed the values of the original People Power. In stark contrast “EDSA Tres,” which occurred several months after, was dismissed as a disruptive and illegitimate episode that failed to align with the ideals of its predecessor. EDSA Tres has increasingly faded from public memory, and the details of the events that took place remain poorly documented.

This special issue explores the abovementioned tensions. Specifically, it sheds light on how EDSA—whether as a place, event, political phenomenon, or symbol—may be theorized in terms of its legacy, or questioned in terms of its continued relevance in Philippine political and cultural life. The special issue welcomes individual appraisals of EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres, especially comparative analyses of the two.

Prospective contributors are particularly invited to present new data from understudied and/or overlooked sources, including archival and ethnographic materials, that provide fresh yet empirically grounded perspectives on EDSA Dos and Tres. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following themes:

1. Theorizing and reappraising “EDSA” after EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres Mechanics of collective memory or forgetting surrounding EDSA’s legacy

2. The “people” and “power” in “People Power”

3. Political polarization and social movements in the name of EDSA

4. Class and identity politics in EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres

5. Popular representations and reportage of EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres

6. EDSA’s iconographies, symbols, and performative aspects of protest and political mobilization

7. EDSA’s reflection in the everyday politics in the Philippines

8. Technologies and their utility in political mobilizations during and after EDSA Dos and EDSA Tres

We encourage proposed abstracts from different disciplines as we surface new insights on how EDSA—and its recurring invocation—is perceived, imagined, contested, and negotiated.

Prospective authors must submit extended abstracts of 250–300 words by 10 March 2025 along with their brief biographies in a combined Word document. Contributors will receive feedback by 24 March 2025.

Contributors of accepted abstracts will be invited to participate in an online workshop to refine and further develop their papers prior to final submission. They will be asked to submit manuscripts (approximately 7,000 words) by 7 July 2025. All papers will undergo an independent peer review process before publication.

Subject Fields: Political Sociology, Socio-Legal History, Collective Memory

All submissions should be sent to the Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints Editorial Team (philstudies.soss@ateneo.edu), with guest editors Athena Charanne Presto (Senior Lecturer, University of the Philippines Diliman Department of Sociology; arpresto@up.edu.ph) and Ruby Rosselle Tugade (Senior Lecturer, University of the Philippines Diliman College of Law; rltugade@up.edu.ph) cc’ed.