The Human Development Network (HDN) and the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID), non-profit organization dedicated to the study of Islamic and democratic political thought held a roundtable discussion on the relationship between neoliberalism and political extremism on May 30, 2017 at the UP School of Economics. Prof. Sanam Anderlini, co-founder and executive director of International Civil Society Action Network, a global association of human rights activitsts, as the keynote speaker.

Prof. Anderlini discussed how the neoliberal context contributes to the rise of extremism. She pointed out aspects of the neoliberal ideology, including wealth inequality among people and the education system further promoting such ideology, that push some people towards radical beliefs. She noted that to address a complex challenge, policies should consider ideas from different fields of study in order to deepen development that is focused on the reduction of poverty and inequality. The discussions that followed tackled how to address this challenge, especially in the context of the Philippines.

The event was attended by representatives from the different sectors, including the academe, civil society and government, and was moderated by Dr. Randy Tuano, project coordinator.