Singapore in the Global System: Relationship, Structure and ChangeThis book tracks the phases of Singapore’s economic and political development, arguing that its success was always dependent upon the territories links with the surrounding region and the wider global system, and suggests that managing these links today will be the key to the country’s future. Singapore has followed a distinctive historical development trajectory. It was one of a number of cities which provided bases for the expansion of the British empire in the East. But the Pacific War provided local elites with their chance to secure independence. In Singapore the elite disciplined and mobilized their population and built successfully on their colonial inheritance. Today, the city-state prospers in the context of its regional and global networks, and sustaining and nurturing these are the keys to its future. But there are clouds on the elite’s horizons; domestically, the population is restive with inequality, migration and surplus-repression causing concern; and internationally, the strategy of constructing a business-hub economy is being widely copied and both Hong Kong and Shanghai are significant competitors. This book discusses these issues and argues that although success is likely to characterize Singapore’s future, the elite will have to address these significant domestic and international problems. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 90
... and the central regions of China. The history of these four cities records their participation in a series of polities: from the mandala states of Southeast Asia, 4 the feudal states of IndoChina and China, and the various colonial ...
... and the competing claims of the Dutch, Portuguese and French only through multiple wars, diplomatic manoeuvring and the establishment of trading settlements. Colonial empire generated riches for some, advancement for others and failures ...
... and the Opium War of 1839–42 and the Arrow War 1856–60 drew China into the system as a series of trading ports were opened. George Balfour established a trading settlement in Shanghai in the autumn of 1843; trade grew and in time an ...
... and the masses provided labour. Local politics reflected the situation: power lay with civil servants in India and the colony, whilst the local expatriate business elite manoeuvred for influence; local business grew more important and ...
... and the island were key power-holders; powerful expatriate business was joined by local Chinese business. In the late nineteenth century the west coast of Malaya was drawn into the colonial sphere and Singapore prospered as established ...
Contents
Impact and reply 40 | |
General crisis 58 | |
New trajectories 79 | |
Locating Singapore 100 | |
Trading cities 160 | |
Unfolding trajectories 197 | |
Notes 216 | |
Bibliography 263 | |
Index 275 | |
Other editions - View all
Singapore in the Global System: Relationship, Structure and Change Peter Preston Limited preview - 2007 |
Singapore in the Global System: Relationship, Structure and Change Peter Wallace Preston No preview available - 2007 |