Status Quo or Pluralism? Dominant Party Rule and People's Preferences in Singapore

Abstract

This article aims to examine three prevailing theories of political change—modernization theory, new structuralist theory, and value change theory—by examining the case of Singapore. The article focuses on the effects of three socioeconomic and demographic attributes—education, income, and generation—on people's preferences regarding dominant party rule. Using data from postelection surveys conducted in 2011 and 2015, this empirical examination shows that income has a significant effect—primarily that persons with lower income show stronger support for the status quo. The younger generation born into the already well‐developed economy after the country's independence supports greater pluralism, in contrast to the older generation born before its independence. Higher levels of education also enhance positive perceptions of political pluralism, but at a weak level of significance. These results are consistent with the predictions of modernization theory and value change theory, but are not directly consistent with those of new structuralist theory.