Is The People's Action Party Here To Stay?: Analysing The Resilience Of The One-party Dominant State In Singapore

by Bilveer Singh

Overview

This book examines the staying power of the People's Action Party, a political party that has governed Singapore since June 1959. A political titan with few chinks in its armour, the party has kept winning elections under three prime ministers and Singapore is about to witness a transition to the fourth prime minister. The party's seemingly unstoppable sterling performance makes the issue of the durability of the PAP highly critical. In light of the serious weakness of the Opposition and the strong performance legitimacy of the ruling party, it is worthwhile asking the question, can the PAP stumble and fall? Addressing this question is highly relevant given that similar political parties and structures have almost all collapsed elsewhere — the Barisan Nasional as the latest casualty with its defeat in Malaysia's 2018 General Elections. With an extensive coverage on domestic and international issues, up-to-date developments on the finalisation of the PAP's 4G leadership, the Workers' Party town council saga, and the efforts to form an opposition coalition led by Tan Cheng Bock are also analysed in this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789811201455
Publisher:	World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/18/2019
Pages:	332
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations; List of Tables; Acknowledgements; Notable Quotes; Preface; Prologue: A 4th Generation Leader's View on One-Party Dominance in Singapore; Introduction: Democracy, Politics and the Puzzle of Dominance; One-Party Dominance: A Framework for Analysis; The Singapore Political System; Singapore's Electoral History, 1948 – 2015; Seeds of the People's Action Party's Hegemony: The Importance of the 1955, 1959 and 1963 Legislative Assembly Elections; Singapore as a One-Party Dominant State: Case Study of the 2011 and 2015 General Elections; Post-2015 General Elections Developments (the 2016 Bukit Batok By-Election and the 2017 Presidential Election]; The 2018 Malaysian General Elections and the Fall of the National Front Government: Will There Be a Contagion-Effect on Singapore?; Post-Malaysian 2018 General Elections Developments and Singapore's Politics; Explaining PAP's Political Dominance in Singapore's Politics; Consequences of Singapore as a One-Party Dominant State; Conclusion: Will Singapore's One-Party Dominant System Endure?; Select Bibliography; Appendices