Crisis and Instability is an overall analytical assessment of the political and economic situation in the Philippines after four years of the Aquino Government. To grasp the roots of Philippine instability, O'Brien examines the government's policies on four fundamental issues - economic development, agrarian reform, U.S. military bases and counterinsurgency. These policies, the author maintains, have blocked resolution of basic problems of poverty, inequality and dependency, and have resulted in the shrinking of "democratic space" for opposition groups. Until these problems are solved, instability in the Philippines will continue.