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Constructing Singapore: Elitism, Ethnicity and the Nation-building Project
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 nd 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.
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 nd 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.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 10, 2018
يناقش الكاتبين صعود سنغفورة، حيث يركز بشكل كبير على نظام التعليم والاثنية كمدخلان في تخريج واعتماد النخبة والتي تشكل المورد الرئيسي للكادر الحكومي.
February 26, 2021
"In a country where the regime and the nation are conceptually almost inseparable," what happens to power and the relationship between its people and the nation?
the central question, perhaps, of this book.
but i don't want to talk about that. i just want to talk, on a personal level, about how resoundingly mindblowing this book was.
i wonder what barr and skrbis would say today, about halimah yacob's recent presidential election, about the slowly growing number of non-chinese president's scholars, and moe's "every school a good school".
i suspect, as well, that they wouldn't be surprised at all by those new developments. this book was published in 2008, but the authors predicted, pretty much, chinese oblivion to ethnicity-based prejudice (a la debacles over chinese privilege today), conformity, educational stratification, and the problem of the scholar-commoner disparity.
i need to investigate this book more, to see what institutional backgrounds the authors had and their motivations for writing this - because this book captured a perspective that i had not been woken up to. in other words, it knew and understood the contours of singapore's polities better than i did. at least, i had that instinct. yet barr is based in australia and not a singaporean native.
my admittedly immature sensibilities did not feel at any point that the authors were being patronising towards singapore. they did, overall, a good job at recognising the nuances and complexity of the singaporean body politic and state; neither infantilising it nor barbarising its principles very much. in fact, this book was a fresh breath of air, a welcome counterpoint to the unwieldy words of politicians who manage to say nothing at all, sometimes, in a whole string of their vapid words.
maybe i am growing too cynical. it is strange if i am because i wouldn't associate cynicism with myself. i feel belonging towards singapore and recognise its deep underbelly of treasures worthy of love. i am neutral on the pap, but not anti-establishment: if asked for my political orientation i will say "i'm for singaporeans." but just maybe i am also weary, after leaving raffles institution, of some of the opulence in political and social capital we commanded. because i know a couple of people from the gep who barr and skrbis accurately described in their chapter on the gep although they have never met them maybe that is why my cynicism surfaces here. for cynicism is the halfway point between being weary of old tricks of the mind and yearning desperately for a new paradigm or, at least, some change.
the central question, perhaps, of this book.
but i don't want to talk about that. i just want to talk, on a personal level, about how resoundingly mindblowing this book was.
i wonder what barr and skrbis would say today, about halimah yacob's recent presidential election, about the slowly growing number of non-chinese president's scholars, and moe's "every school a good school".
i suspect, as well, that they wouldn't be surprised at all by those new developments. this book was published in 2008, but the authors predicted, pretty much, chinese oblivion to ethnicity-based prejudice (a la debacles over chinese privilege today), conformity, educational stratification, and the problem of the scholar-commoner disparity.
i need to investigate this book more, to see what institutional backgrounds the authors had and their motivations for writing this - because this book captured a perspective that i had not been woken up to. in other words, it knew and understood the contours of singapore's polities better than i did. at least, i had that instinct. yet barr is based in australia and not a singaporean native.
my admittedly immature sensibilities did not feel at any point that the authors were being patronising towards singapore. they did, overall, a good job at recognising the nuances and complexity of the singaporean body politic and state; neither infantilising it nor barbarising its principles very much. in fact, this book was a fresh breath of air, a welcome counterpoint to the unwieldy words of politicians who manage to say nothing at all, sometimes, in a whole string of their vapid words.
maybe i am growing too cynical. it is strange if i am because i wouldn't associate cynicism with myself. i feel belonging towards singapore and recognise its deep underbelly of treasures worthy of love. i am neutral on the pap, but not anti-establishment: if asked for my political orientation i will say "i'm for singaporeans." but just maybe i am also weary, after leaving raffles institution, of some of the opulence in political and social capital we commanded. because i know a couple of people from the gep who barr and skrbis accurately described in their chapter on the gep although they have never met them maybe that is why my cynicism surfaces here. for cynicism is the halfway point between being weary of old tricks of the mind and yearning desperately for a new paradigm or, at least, some change.
August 23, 2016
كتاب يناقش التعددية العرقية بين الصينيين والملاويين والهنود في سنغافورة ويسلط الضوء على كيف استطاعت سنغافورة النهوض بدولة قوية عبر تحديات وجود عرقيات مختلفة عن طريق الإهتمام بالتعليم ووضع نظام اجتماعي صارم يحتم على الجميع السعي وراء النجاح حتى لايتم اتهامهم بالفشل ومن ثم نبذهم
May 29, 2017
Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Singapore.
September 12, 2017
كتاب قيّم
باختصار يسرد قصة نجاح سنغافورة البلد متعدد الأعراق والمكونات وصعوده اقتصاديا.
التعايش والتعددية تقودان التنمية
باختصار يسرد قصة نجاح سنغافورة البلد متعدد الأعراق والمكونات وصعوده اقتصاديا.
التعايش والتعددية تقودان التنمية
October 5, 2022
ملفت للنظر النظام السائد في سنغافورة... يبدو أن ملفات العرق والبقاء للأكفأ لا تزال تواجه تحديات الأمس
December 11, 2019
دراسة نقدية تعمقت في جذور الفكر لإنشاء الدولة، درست وحللت الأفكار والتوجهات وتأثيراتها، تعمقت في المجتمع بإختلافات تكويناته وأفكار مؤسسي الدولة وسياساتهم في بناء وقيادة دولة ذات طبيعة خاصة تواجه تحديات وجودية وعالمية تنطلق من مجتمع متباين في كل الأوجه( العرقية-الإثنية-الدينية) لتتواجه مع تحديات إقتصادية وسياسية وجغرافية.
إنها قصة ميلاد لأمة خاصة تسعى للوجود والتميز،
الكتاب الي حد ما كبير ذو طبيعية تخصصية أكاديمية.
قد يجد القارئ العادي صعوبة أو عدم رضا في بداية قرأته ولكن مع المضي فيه وبالحرص على الإلمام به يبدأ بالتدارك والتأقلم مع صياغته وتعبيراته ومن ثم يتطور إلى الشعور بالرضا والتقدير للجهد المضني والخلفية العلمية العميقة لمؤلفي الكتاب، كما أنه يسلط الضوء في الوقت ذاته على سبل نهوض هذة الدولة الصغيرة جداً والكبيرة جداً أيضاً.
إنها قصة ميلاد لأمة خاصة تسعى للوجود والتميز،
الكتاب الي حد ما كبير ذو طبيعية تخصصية أكاديمية.
قد يجد القارئ العادي صعوبة أو عدم رضا في بداية قرأته ولكن مع المضي فيه وبالحرص على الإلمام به يبدأ بالتدارك والتأقلم مع صياغته وتعبيراته ومن ثم يتطور إلى الشعور بالرضا والتقدير للجهد المضني والخلفية العلمية العميقة لمؤلفي الكتاب، كما أنه يسلط الضوء في الوقت ذاته على سبل نهوض هذة الدولة الصغيرة جداً والكبيرة جداً أيضاً.
October 18, 2025
Yes, the government is also the biggest employer through Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) and other affiliated institutions. Essentially, the government drives the economy. In Singapore, it often feels like SG = PAP; without the PAP, there is no Singapore. This mindset is deeply ingrained, especially among the older generation. Nationalism is strong. Most of my friends don’t critique Singapore openly—if you do, you risk backlash from peers/colleagues or even from the government in the name of Protection from Online Falsehoods and manipulating Acts (POFMA)for spreading misinformation.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews