Authoritarian Constitutionalism

Legislative Studies Quarterly, 2002

Asian Survey, 2012

Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) , 2020

With the July 2020 election Singapore’s political system returned to normalcy in non-normal times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite significant losses, the People’s Action Party (PAP) remains the predominant party. The relatively strong result of the opposition, however, demonstrates the wish of the Singaporean citizens for more pluralism and alternative narratives.

Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 2022

Singapore's political struggles of the 1950s and 1960s, between a Chinese-educated, workingclass left wing and a middle-class, English-educated faction, have not been completely eradicated but continue to cast a shadow over modern political developments. The moderate, Englisheducated faction achieved an important victory when it took over control of the People's Action Party (PAP) in the early 1960s. However, the surprise ascendancy of the Workers' Party (WP), under Low Thia Khiang, has seen a long-marginalized section of the Chinese-educated galvanize around a district, Hougang and Aljunied, and a Teochew-speaking charismatic but lowkey individual in Mr Low. The WP's ability to develop an enduring 'brand' over the 2006-2013 period surprised many commentators. By 2013 it had become Singapore's second-strongest political force.

2014

The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies, 2006

The electoral authoritarian regime of Singapore has experienced two very different general elections in 2011 and 2015. The first was a watershed election that allowed the opposition to capture the largest number of seats ever, including a group representative constituency, which was once believed to be impossible. It had also fielded the most candidates ever, running in all but one constituencies. The latter, however, was a major setback for the opposition which had to suffer a significant reduction in the share of popular vote. As the ruling party won in a landslide, the opposition Workers' Party even lost one seat that it had gained in a by-election in 2013. Opposition supporters , who had hoped to make additional gains, were devastated. Observers even saw in the election result a clear victory for the soft-authoritarian regime. This paper, however, argues that Singapore, in spite of the 2015 election, continues to be on the path to a fundamental political transformation. The majority of Singaporeans still wants a responsive government with sufficient checks on arbitrary power. The ruling party now has to be much more responsive to popular desires and quirks than in the past and can no longer act according to what it claims to be the long-term interests of the country. In addition, it is important to recognize that the 2015 election was conducted under extremely favorable conditions for the ruling party including Sin-gapore's 50 year celebrations and the death of the «founding father» Lee Kuan Yew. Overall, this demonstrates that the ruling party's hegemonic position is in decline while it remains to be seen how the ruling party will fare in the upcoming leadership transition amid growing challenges and the lack of a clear successor.

Journal of Democracy, 2009

Singapore stands out as one of the unique cases in which a one-party system thrives amidst increasing affluence. However, ever since the 2011 General Election, when the PAP experienced its worst electoral performance in the history of the country, many have started to question the survivability of the one-party system. In particular, some argue that the rise of post-materialism among younger voters and a maturing opposition pose a threat to the PAP’s dominance. Based on survey data collected from a sample survey among 560 Singaporean voters, this research study argues that the PAP’s dominance is very much entrenched. In other words, the one-party system is likely to survive despite the changing political landscape of Singapore. This is due to four main factors: (1) the PAP’s credibility (2) the conservatism of society (3) a weak opposition and (4) the PAP’s ability to adapt to change.