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 89
... to control the Straits of Malacca and protect the route to China. In the British sphere in East Asia, Singapore and Hong Kong became crucial colonial ports; they were links in a global system; they facilitated Singapore contexts 1.
... became more important after the loss of the American colonies; and the related inauguration of the project of the British Empire29 underscored the importance of the region. The Indian sub-continent was the key possession. The Company ...
... became important colonial and global cities. In the informal sphere of empire, the Bowring Treaty of 1855 drew Bangkok into the global system, and the Opium War of 1839–42 and the Arrow War 1856–60 drew China into the system as a series ...
... became a formal colony: a governor was appointed; civil servants in London 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 ...
... became a successful trading port. The ideology of laissez-faire justified the pattern of activity of the state. The focus was on traders. It justified neglect of other economic activities, yet by1900 there was significant Chinese-funded ...
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 |