Constructing Singapore: Elitism, ethnicity and the nation-building project

Barr, Michael D. and Skrbis, Zlatko Constructing Singapore: Elitism, ethnicity and the nation-building project. Copenhagen, Denmark: NIAS Press (Nordic Institute of Asian Studies), 2008.

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Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads
Author Barr, Michael D.
Skrbis, Zlatko
Title Constructing Singapore: Elitism, ethnicity and the nation-building project
Place of Publication Copenhagen, Denmark
Publisher NIAS Press (Nordic Institute of Asian Studies)
Publication year 2008
Sub-type Critical scholarly texts
Volume 11
Series Democracy in Asia
ISBN 9788776940294; 8776940292; 9788776940287; 8776940284
Language eng
Start page 1
End page 304
Total pages 296
Collection year 2009
Subjects A1
160805 Social Change
160803 Race and Ethnic Relations
959999 Cultural Understanding not elsewhere classified
Formatted Abstract/Summary Singapore has few natural resources but, in a relatively short history, its economic and social development and transformation are nothing short of remarkable. Today Singapore is by far the most successful exemplar of material development in Southeast Asia and it often finds itself the envy of developed countries. Furthermore over the last three and a half decades the ruling party has presided over the formation of a thriving community of Singaporeans who love and are proud of their country.

Nothing about these processes has been ‘natural’ in any sense of the word. Much of the country's investment in nation building has in fact gone into the selection, training and formation of a ruling and administrative elite that reflects and will perpetuate its vision of the nation. The government ownership of the nation-building project, its micromanagement of everyday life and the role played by the elite are three fundamental elements in this complex and continuing process of construction of a nation. The intense triangulation of these elements and the pace of change they produce make Singapore one of the most intriguing specimens of nation building in the region.

In a critical study of the politics of ethnicity and elitism in Singapore, Constructing Singapore looks inside the supposedly ‘meritocratic’ system, from nursery school to university and beyond, that produces Singapore's political and administrative elite. Focusing on two processes - elite formation and elite selection - it gives primary attention to the role that ethno-racial ascription plays in these processes but also considers the input of personal connections, personal power, class and gender. The result is a study revealing much about how Singapore's elite-led nation-building project has reached its current state whereby a Singaporean version of Chinese ethno-nationalism has overwhelmed the discourse on national and Singaporean identity.
© Michael D. Barr and Zlatko Skrbiš 2008
Q-Index Code A1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ

 
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Created: Fri, 27 Mar 2009, 14:58:54 EST by Margaret Gately on behalf of School of Social Science