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Singapore: the politics of inventing national identity
Singapur: die Politik der nationalen Identität
[journal article]
Abstract This study wants to shed new light on the politics of Singapore's national identity invention. Since independence in 1965, the Singaporean government has tried to generate a sense of national identity in Singapore. While at first, the priority was on pragmatic values to promote the economic developm... view more
This study wants to shed new light on the politics of Singapore's national identity invention. Since independence in 1965, the Singaporean government has tried to generate a sense of national identity in Singapore. While at first, the priority was on pragmatic values to promote the economic development, this changed in the late 1980s when the government became concerned with the widespread materialism within the society. As an alternative, so-called Asian values sought to provide an ideological alternative and a new basis for a stronger national identity. At the same time, average Singaporeans have developed their own unique conceptions of the city-state's national identity, which sometimes contradict the official nation-building efforts and thus constitute a subtle form of opposition. Many Singaporeans demand greater participation in the negotiation of their Singaporean identity, which demonstrates the difficulty of constructing a sustainable authoritarian civic national identity.... view less
Keywords
declaration of independence; state formation; materialism; political change; value change; society; value-orientation; nationalism; historical development; Southeast Asia; economic development (on national level); economization; democracy; participation; Singapore; conception; national identity
Classification
Political System, Constitution, Government
General History
Sociology of Developing Countries, Developmental Sociology
Method
applied research; historical
Free Keywords
comparative science; Singapore; national identity; nation-building; economic development; nationalism; democracy; 1960-2010
Document language
English
Publication Year
2009
Page/Pages
p. 23-46
Journal
Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 28 (2009) 4
ISSN
1868-4882
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works