This book presents insights on Singapore's politics and governance from leading thinkers, based on selected commentaries from Singapore Perspectives conference series co-published by Institute of Policy Studies and World Scientific. Contributed by the who's who of Singapore's government, business and academia circles, they provide diverse viewpoints over state-society relations, governing principles, electoral politics, foreign policy, among other important issues.Will consensus or contest secure Singapore's future? Should pragmatism be retained as Singapore's governing philosophy? What if the nation-state is no longer the key organisational unit of the international community? What if Singapore has to choose between China and the United States? What if Singapore becomes a two- or multi-party system? This volume explores a range of possible answers to these questions and more.

In the past two decades, research on environmental issues in East and Southeast Asian countries has mainly focused on existing institutional mechanisms of environmental management, the establishment of new environmental management structures, the introduction of incentives to improve natural capital and foster environmental protection, and the culture of environmental or "green" groups. Virtually no rigorous research has been directed into the nature and significance of the existing relationship between government and civil society in individual country studies, with specific reference to the environmental policy sector, or into how this relationship may be evolving. This book explores this connection in Singapore, and what causes it to evolve, through three case narratives. Its rationale is to address this gap in the literature from a "governance theory" perspective that focuses on state adaptation to the external environment and new forms of coordination and collaboration between government and civil society to tackle new societal problems. The application of the "governance theory" approach to specific case studies is itself a topic that deserves much greater study than what it has so far received.

This book delves into the limitations of Singapore’s authoritarian governance model. In doing so, the relevance of the Singapore governance model for other industrialising economies is systematically examined. Research in this book examines the challenges for an integrated governance model that has proven durable over four to five decades. The editors argue that established socio-political and economic formulae are now facing unprecedented challenges. Structural pressures associated with Singapore’s particular locus within globalised capitalism have fostered heightened social and material inequalities, compounded by the ruling party’s ideological resistance to substantive redistribution. As ‘growth with equity’ becomes more elusive, the rationale for power by a ruling party dominated by technocratic elite and state institutions crafted and controlled by the ruling party and its bureaucratic allies is open to more critical scrutiny.

Comparative analysis of the public bureaucracy's implementation of two ASEAN policies in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

While some e-government projects fail to deliver the expected benefits due to numerous technical, organizational, institutional, and contextual factors, information technology continues to be utilized by international governments to achieve countless benefits. E-Government Success around the World: Cases, Empirical Studies, and Practical Recommendations presents the latest findings in the area of e-government success. Written for academics and professionals, this book aims to improve the understanding of e-government success factors and cultural contexts in the field of governmental information technologies in various disciplines such as political science, public administration, information and communication sciences, and sociology.

In a world of uncertainty and change, current achievements are no guarantee for future survival. Even if the initial chosen set of principles, policies and practices are good, static efficiency and governance would eventually lead to stagnation and decay. No amount of careful planning can assure a government of continual relevance and effectiveness if there is no capacity for learning, innovation and change in the face of ever new challenges in a volatile and unpredictable global environment.This book provides an in-depth look at dynamic governance, the key to success in a world of rapid, increasing globalization and unrelenting technological advancements. If bureaucratic public institutions can evolve and embed the culture and capabilities that enable continuous learning and change, their contributions to a country's socio-economic progress and prosperity would be enormous. The lessons from their efforts in institutionalizing culture, capabilities and change could provide meaningful and valuable insights for transforming organizations in other contexts.

"Singapore Inc. prides itself on, and is widely admired for, its economic success and material prosperity. However, its system of governance is poorly understood and is regarded by some observers as being incompatible with its capitalist economic policies, especially those linked to the new economy. Based on extensive original research, including in-depth interviews with public sector officials and employees of government-linked companies, this book provides detailed information and analysis about the peculiarities of the elitist and highly controlled system of governance, and about how the elite conducts and controls policy."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This book makes available original case studies on how institutions developed in Singapore. Up until now, these case studies have been used exclusively in Singapore to teach public governance, and have been well-received in the Singapore Civil Service College’s milestone programmes. With this publication, more will be able to access this material. Students, researchers and policy-makers can now use these case studies for pedagogy or to derive insights on Singapore’s approach on governance. Designed around the theme of "building institutions", the case studies also present facets of how institutions developed which are universal to management studies. These case studies highlight a core aspect in the development of institutions, namely, how people and organisations change the culture of institutions, how leaders influence their organisations, and how policies define the systems that build institutions. The book contains 5 case studies, each profiling a unique sector and key institution in Singapore. They present how public agencies and leaders helped to build Singapore institutions over the last forty years. Although there are more cases studies on management and strategy than public policy and administration, there is growing interest in Asian case studies, and more specifically, case studies on Singapore public governance. This collection of case studies on Singapore institutions provides the perspective from Singaporean case writers themselves, on the role of government in Singapore’s development.

Peter Ho, former Head of the Singapore Civil Service, was the Institute of Policy Studies' 2016/17 S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore.This book collects the four IPS-Nathan Lectures that he delivered between April and May 2017, and gathers highlights of his dialogues with the audience.Ho surveys the increasingly complex world, and suggests what governments can do to prepare for the future — even as no one can predict it. He uses metaphors such as the 'black elephant' and concepts like the 'dialectic of governance' to explain how a systematic approach to thinking about the future can help countries in general — and Singapore in particular — build resilience and develop a comparative advantage in the face of uncertainty and rapid change.The IPS-Nathan Lectures series was launched in 2014 as part of the S R Nathan Fellowship for the Study of Singapore. Its primary goal is to promote public understanding and discourse of issues of critical national interest.