The Ruling Elite of Singapore
Leadership beyond Lee
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:12th Nov '26
£65.00
This title is due to be published on 12th November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
A history of Singapore’s ruling elite from 1950 to the present day, exploring the characteristics and composition of its leaders, and the impact they have had on their city-state.
Michael Barr explores the complex and covert networks of power at work in one of the world’s most prosperous countries, the city-state of Singapore. Charting the creation of a national elite in the 1950s and its consolidation as the ruling elite in the 1960s, it argues that the contemporary networks of power are a deliberate project initiated and managed by Lee Kuan Yew- former prime minister and Singapore’s ‘founding father’.
This updated and revised edition extends the narrative to consider recent developments and shifts in power since the death of Lee Kuan Yew in 2015. From the Lee-family feud to Lee Hsien Loong’s prime ministerial succession and the inexorable rise of K. Shanmugam, this book considers what this means for the future direction, character and power structure of Singapore’s ruling elite, and what the future might hold for this flourishing and affluent nation.
A decade after its path-breaking first edition, Michael Barr returns with a significantly expanded and timely exploration of the mechanisms that shaped and sustain Singapore’s power structures. This volume moves beyond the founding mythology of Lee Kuan Yew’s “blueprint” and documents a “diary of elite decline” within the very system that was designed to perpetually rejuvenate itself. Through a meticulous documentation of the evolution of the “capitalist-technocratic settlement”, Barr argues that the once-innovative model of governance has now ossified into a homogenous and risk-averse “group-think prison”. Methodical and unsparing, Barr provides an indispensable reality check on the institutional legacies of the Lee family and the systemic challenges facing the 4G leadership. An important and compelling read. * Kevin Y. L. Tan, National University of Singapore, Singapore *
A deeply researched and compelling account of how power is reproduced and contested in Singapore, The Ruling Elite of Singapore is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the city-state beyond its official narratives of meritocracy and technocratic governance. With impressive historical depth, analytical precision, and striking contemporary relevance, Michael Barr offers one of the most incisive studies of leadership, elite formation, and institutional change in post-Lee Singapore. * Kenneth Paul Tan, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong *
“A devastatingly clear-eyed anatomy of Singapore’s ruling class and how it is carefully built, renewed, and protected. Michael Barr cuts through the sanctimony of Singapore’s official story with precision and wit, showing how “meritocracy” so often serves as the ruling elite’s favourite myth. Essential reading.“ * Dr Thum Ping Tjin, Founder, New Naratif *
ISBN: 9781350505452
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
256 pages
2nd edition