What are challenges to Singapore’s economy in the contemporary world? What are the challenges people face — from work to care, housing to retirement? How should public policy address the needs of the people, both in the near and the long term? – A reading list.
Ten years ago, Singapore declared War on Diabetes. MOHAMMAD KHAMSYA BIN KHIDZER (King’s College London) examines the logics behind the campaign and finds that one under-appreciated rationale is economic.
The “Singapore model” of a market economy under heavy government direction has led to strong headline numbers that obscure signs of significant stress. High land and housing costs, extreme inequality, and a very low fertility rate suggest that everyday life feels precarious for many in one of the world’s richest cities. Singapore needs a new playbook, argues LINDA LIM in this article originally published by the Atlantic Council.
Historian of Philosophy LILITH LEE reflects on the value of reconstructing Straits Chinese philosophy for the history of world philosophies and for Singaporean self-understanding.
Twenty years ago, Louis Ng was known as the passionate animal rights activist who personified the spirit of independent advocacy in Singapore’s civil society. Ten years ago, Louis Ng Kok Kwang was officially announced a ruling party candidate for the 2015 General Election. This year, he quit electoral politics. LIEW KAI KHIUN, an independent scholar […]
KWOK KIAN WOON (University of the Arts) was the guest speaker at the Class of 2025 Convocation ceremony of Nanyang Technological University’s School of Humanities on 28 July 2025. This is the text of his speech. I am privileged to join you on this very special day for our graduands, and certainly also for your […]
Sociologist JACK JIN GARY LEE (New School for Social Research) traces the double standards embedded in the colonial criminalisation of gay sex. Reflecting on the recent repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code, Russell Heng, playwright, activist, and pioneering scholar of postcolonial Singapore’s queer history, recounted a past troubling encounter with the police at […]
Singaporeans voted for familiarity in May’s general election, expressing their confidence in a new Lawrence Wong Government that promises continuity on many fronts. However, the republic’s formula for managing its external environment was based on conditions that no longer apply, warns CHONG JA IAN (National University of Singapore).
An Indian diplomatic offensive aims to rally international support for its chosen strategy to combat terrorism. But Singapore’s approach to counter-terrorism is quite different.
Inequality needs to be understood as a shared, uneasy experience, even if different groups use different strategies to deal with it, argues TEO YOU YENN (Nanyang Technological University).
