Welcome to our collection of resources for voters.

Explainers: key concepts

Webinars

Understanding the issues

Surviving in Trump’s World

In an article after Trump’s election victory last November, Linda Lim (University of Michigan) explained what Singapore and world economy can expect in the next four years, and what remains uncertain. 

Trump’s trade war is the unique backdrop of this year’s election. Linda Lim offers primers on import tariffs and trade deficits. 

Chong Ja Ian (National University of Singapore) argued in this recent article that Singapore must clarify how to operationalise its key principles of international relations in a tumultuous global environment. 

Addressing inequality

All political parties agree that economic inequality is one of the most pressing issues facing Singapore. One answer is to recognise a living wage as a basic right. Ng Kok Hoe (National University of Singapore) and Teo You Yenn(Nanyang Technological University) offer an explainer. In another article, they argue that determining the basic standard of living that everyone should have means recognising that all are equal in humanity. People can also be helped through cash transfers. These need not be wasteful handouts, says Ng Kok Hoe in this explainer.

Should the super-rich pay higher taxes, or will their wealth trickle down? Linda Lim (University of Michigan) and Teo You Yenn say in this article that the gains from attracting ultra-high-net-worth individuals with tax breaks are outweighed by forgone tax revenues and distract from the state’s responsibilty to look after its citizens. Misgivings about extreme wealth are sometimes labelled as the “politics of envy”. Cherian George (Hong Kong Baptist University) analyses such rhetoric in this explainer.

Teo You Yenn suggests that a new social compact requires leaders to embark on radical reforms to redress the balance between citizens’ self-interest and solidarity — a social sense that is overwhelmed by institutional signals that life is an individual hustle, she says in another article.

Political transition and openness

In our editorial after the swearing in of Lawrence Wong and his Cabinet, we called on the 4G leaders to enlarge political space for citizen participation and public deliberation in line with the Prime Minister’s pledge to “engage and maximise the combined energies, imaginations and strengths of all Singaporeans” in “an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust”.

The 2020 General Election result was an opportunity for leaders and citizens to step forward to support a more participatory and deliberative democracy, Cherian George and Donald Low argued in this commentary.

At our Knowledge PRAXIS conference last May, several academics, activists, and artists spoke up for a culture of openness that acknowledges how knowledge production takes place in diverse circles. The conference website includes several videos from the conference.

Further reading

We have curated a collection of book chapters and journal articles, all available for free download courtesy of the authors and publishers. Visit our GE2025 reading list.