Challenging Democracy: Singapore’s Increasing Rejection of Democratic Values

Abstract

Singapore is a relatively young country that earned its independence from Malaysia in 1965, yet this developing democracy has achieved a remarkable GDP per capita that in 2019 was higher than the US’s. Fostering economic growth has been a top priority for the country’s dominant political party, the People’s Action Party (PAP) who has controlled the country’s executive branch since 1959. However, in order to remain the dominant political party, the PAP has compromised the country’s democratic institutions and the people’s civil liberties. In the general parliamentary elections, the PAP has increased the usage and severity of electoral manipulation tactics in order to ensure elections in their favor. Not only have they eroded the legitimacy of elections, but they have also repeatedly abused control of the judicial branch to push for decisions that suppressed opposition parties and protected PAP leaders. Lastly, the PAP, in order to suppress the spread of anti-PAP sentiment, has shut down news websites, jailed journalists, and threatened the livelihood of anybody who criticizes the PAP, contradicting constitutional civil liberties. The People’s Action Party has brought a number of economic benefits to Singapore, yet economic growth has come at the expense of the liberal democracy, trending Singapore in the direction of autocracy and challenging the notion that democracy is the only path for a developing nation’s success.