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2 - Governing the Global City’s Mandarinate

Politically Motivated Appointments in Singapore’s Public Sector

from Part I - One-Party Dominated Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2023

By
Assel Mussagulova  and
George Wong
Edited by
B. Guy Peters ,
Colin Knox  and
Byeong Seob Kim
B. Guy Peters
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Colin Knox
Affiliation:
Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
Byeong Seob Kim
Affiliation:
Seoul National University
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Summary

Singapore’s civil service has been lauded as one of the successful case studies globally. The emphasis on meritocracy has been the hallmark of Singapore’s governance. This principle remains a guiding philosophy for the dominant People’s Action Party (PAP). Political analysts often attributed “the Singapore miracle” to its corruption-free, highly professional, technocratic government. Still, certain segments of Singapore’s civil service bear the institutional and cultural vestiges of politically motivated appointments. In this chapter, we first analyze the process of selecting top public service positions, showing how political considerations are factored into these appointments. Second, using the case of the People’s Association, we explore the “public service” face of para-political organizations and demonstrate how appointments and politics of urban governance are intertwined. The chapter offers us insights on how political interests and concerns persist despite the progress in public governance, and on the role of elite networks and political regime-making in shaping public sector opportunities.

Keywords

Singaporemeritocracyurban governancepolitical leadership
Type
Chapter
Information
Political Patronage in Asian Bureaucracies , pp. 25 - 48
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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