For analysts of political development, Singapore is an extremely frustrating case. The economy is opened to global flows, thus highly influenced by external forces, in spite of the government's heavy presence in the domestic economy through state-capitalist enterprises. The economy had been inevitably affected by the 1997 Asian regional financial crisis and the global recession during the early years of this century; nevertheless, it has had four decades of expansion with very few disruptions. These four decades of sustained economic development have changed the society in very significant ways. Educational attainment of the population has expanded, so too has economic confidence and consumption power. The population is better informed, and through education, global travel and access to information, more cosmopolitan in outlook.

The cultural sphere, too, is open to global flows, from pop culture to weighty intellectual trends; expansion includes relatively highbrow cultural practices, such as theatre and visual arts, and more prosaic desires of different lifestyles. Talks of civil society and desires for reforms have multiplied. The willingness of activists to work behind the scene in ‘closed door’ meetings with relevant government agencies, while remaining taciturn publicly, has worn thin. Many groups now make public issues out of their successes or failures in negotiations with government agencies. The newspapers, although still unerringly pro-government, have provided more space for debate in their forum pages and coverage of civil society activities. An image of greater freedoms is the perception of locals and foreigners alike. Emblematic of this perception is Time magazine's declaration of Singapore as a ‘funky’ place in one of its cover stories in 1998.

The expansion and liberalization of the cultural sphere suggests that the PAP government's ability to hold on to political power comes not from a stubborn, authoritarian and repressive exercise of power. It issues from an ability to open up areas of social and cultural practices to greater degrees of flexibility, to allow segments of the population to realize their desires, at least partially, rather than letting the desires fester and be transformed into political demands.