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Abstract

Since independence in 1965, Singapore’s government has been formed by the People’s Action Party (PAP). While competitive elections are held at regular intervals according to the constitution, the continual dominance of the PAP in politics has led observers to contend that Singapore’s supposed democracy more closely resembles a one-party state. This paper thus concerns itself with reconstructing how existing schools of thought explain the persistence of a single political party within a competitive democracy, particularly in the case of a postcolonial nation. The first thesis offers a cultural take on politics. It shows that Asian societies like Singapore tend to favor stability and continuity and this perspective leads the electorate to support the same political party time and again. The second argument looks at the PAP’s stellar governance track record and argues that it is only rational that the electorate continues to support a political party that can meet its needs. Lastly, a Gramscian perspective submits that the PAP had been highly successful at instilling a hegemonic ideology which underscores Singapore’s precarity as a nation and the ability of the PAP to rise to the occasion to manage these national challenges successfully. However, these three perspectives adopt a predominantly macro view of politics which occludes the agentic role of the electorate in also contributing to the persistence of the PAP government. This paper concludes by discussing how future work can be undertaken to enrich the existing understanding of hybrid democratic regimes.

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