The Ruling Elite of Singapore
Leadership beyond Lee
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:26th Nov '26
£65.00
This title is due to be published on 26th November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
A history of Singapore’s ruling elite from 1950 to the present day, exploring the characteristics and composition of its leaders, and the impact they have had on their city-state.
Michael Barr explores both the political and the institutional logic behind the networks of power at work in one of Asia’s most prosperous countries, the city-state of Singapore. Barr charts the creation of a national elite in the 1960s, its consolidation as a multi-generational ruling elite in the 1980s, and the twists and turns of its trajectory thereafter. He argues that the contemporary networks of power are the result of a deliberate project initiated by Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, characterizing it as a brilliant but intrinsically flawed piece of social engineering.
This updated and revised edition extends the analysis of the 2014 edition through to the mid-2020s, arguing that the ruling elite has moved into uncharted territory thanks in part to the declining influence of the Lee family since the death of Lee Kuan Yew in 2015, but more so thanks to the declining standards of professionalism on display in the contemporary networks of power. As Prime Minister Lawrence Wong moves to stamp his personality onto politics and Cabinet, this book calculates the practical limits of any changes of direction through analysis of the patterns of elite recruitment and training that have been applied over recent decades.
A decade after its path-breaking first edition, Michael Barr returns with a significantly expanded and timely exploration of the mechanisms that shaped and sustain Singapore’s power structures. This volume moves beyond the founding mythology of Lee Kuan Yew’s “blueprint” and documents a “diary of elite decline” within the very system that was designed to perpetually rejuvenate itself. Through a meticulous documentation of the evolution of the “capitalist-technocratic settlement”, Barr argues that the once-innovative model of governance has now ossified into a homogenous and risk-averse “group-think prison”. Methodical and unsparing, Barr provides an indispensable reality check on the institutional legacies of the Lee family and the systemic challenges facing the 4G leadership. An important and compelling read. * Kevin Y. L. Tan, National University of Singapore, Singapore *
A deeply researched and compelling account of how power is reproduced and contested in Singapore, The Ruling Elite of Singapore is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the city-state beyond its official narratives of meritocracy and technocratic governance. With impressive historical depth, analytical precision, and striking contemporary relevance, Michael Barr offers one of the most incisive studies of leadership, elite formation, and institutional change in post-Lee Singapore. * Kenneth Paul Tan, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong *
“A devastatingly clear-eyed anatomy of Singapore’s ruling class and how it is carefully built, renewed, and protected. Michael Barr cuts through the sanctimony of Singapore’s official story with precision and wit, showing how “meritocracy” so often serves as the ruling elite’s favourite myth. Essential reading.“ * Dr Thum Ping Tjin *
ISBN: 9781350505452
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
264 pages
2nd edition