Universities in Singapore: climbing world rankings while reining in academic freedom
A new book examines academic freedom in Asia. CHERIAN GEORGE, CHONG JA IAN and SHANNON ANG summarise their chapter on the situation in Singapore.
New volume focusing on academic freedom in Asia includes chapter on Singapore
This new volume is pubished by Columbia University Press as part of the Association for Asian Studies’ Asia Shorts series. Book launch webinar on 1 December (Singapore time).
When to stop learning from Singapore — an Australian perspective
HALLAM STEVENS (James Cook University) cautions that Australia should resist what Singapore’s high-tech governance model offers — not just tech but also connected legal, financial, and political mechanisms for managing society.
Inequality and social good: A new culture of shared wellbeing requires reforming a system that promotes individualism
If Singapore’s leaders are seeking a new social compact for a changed world, they would need to embark on radical reforms to redress the balance between self-interest and solidarity, argues sociologist TEO YOU YENN.
Doubly minoritised: Indianness in Singapore and xenophobia as racism
In an excerpt from the new book, Brown is Redacted, sociologist Laavanya Kathiravelu explains the challenges ethnic Indians face in claiming legitimate belonging to the Singapore nation.
Disinformation in China-US rivalry: a case study
AcademiaSG editors CHONG JA IAN and LINDA LIM relate how their interview with a Hong Kong newspaper was distorted by a PRC news outlet. One year ago, in October 2021, the government passed FICA, the Foreign Interference Countermeasures Act (FICA), two years after passing POFMA, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), in […]
Beyond global post-pandemic inflationary pressures, Singapore’s economic structure will continue to drive up domestic costs
The public discourse on inflation in Singapore has focused on imported inflation, and its mitigation through currency appreciation. But there are also domestic sources of inflation rooted in our overall economic development strategy, argue economists Linda Lim and Nigel Chiang of the University of Michigan.1 One year ago, central bankers worldwide mostly expected rising inflation […]
Let’s talk about Singlish, calmly
Linguist Tan Ying Ying says we need more well-informed conversations about a language that is simultaneously embraced and disparaged.
Finding paths to housing security amidst the many roads that lead to homelessness
Reviewing a new report on homelessness, AcademiaSG Editor Teo You Yenn says the groundbreaking study has radically transformed what we know about homelessness in Singapore and set a high standard for all future work on housing insecurity. She gave the following remarks as the respondent at the launch of the report, Seeking Shelter: Homeless During […]
Antisemitism in Southeast Asia: Stories from Jerusalem to Jakarta
Anti-Jewish sentiments persist in the region even in the virtual absence of Jewish people. PAUL HEDGES of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies traces the many streams of influence sustaining this paradox. Main image: Maghain Aboth Synagogue in Waterloo Street was targetted for attack in 2021. – Photo by JNZL. The arrest in 2021 […]