Politics Of Nation-building And Citizenship In Singapore (politics In Asia)

The Politics of Nation Building and Citizenship in Singapore Singapore has pursued a development track that some have seen as a paradigm for latecomers to the international capitalist market. It is a state that has firmly rejected welfarism but whose political leaders have maintained that collective values, rather than those of individuals, are essential to its survival. Michael Hill and Lian Kwen Fee examine basic concepts of citizenship, nationality and the state in the context of Singapore’s arrival at independence. The theme of nation building is explored with emphasis on how the creation of a national identity, through building new institutions, has been a central feature of political and social life in Singapore. Education has been of great importance, specifically a system of multilingual education that is part of a broader government strategy of multiculturalism and multiracialism, which has served the purpose of building a new national identity. Other areas covered by the authors include family planning, housing policy, the creation of parapolitical structures and the importance of shared ‘Asian values’ amongst Singapore’s citizens. The book offers a sociological account of nation building which is distinct from prevailing Western models as well as from routes taken by other post-colonial states. Michael Hill is Professor of Sociology at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. Lian Kwen Fee is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the National University of Singapore. Politics in Asia Series Edited by Michael Leifer London School of Economics ASEAN and the Security of South-East Asia Michael Leifer China’s Policy Towards Territorial Disputes The Case of the South China Sea Islands Chi-kin Lo India and Southeast Asia Indian Perceptions and Policies Mohammed Ayoob Gorbachev and Southeast Asia Leszek Buszynski Indonesia under Suharto Order, Development and Pressure for Change Michael R.J.Vatikiotis The State and Ethnic Politics in Southeast Asia David Brown The Politics of Nation Building and Citizenship in Singapore Michael Hill and Lian Kwen Fee London and New York First published 1995 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 1995 Michael Hill and Lian Kwen Fee All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information sto