Negotiating belonging and perceptions of citizenship in a transnational world: Singapore, a cosmopolis?

The complex mappings of inflows and outflows of people, capital, images and ideas in global city spaces create particular challenges for nation-states that are deeply embedded in the international circuit of capital. Through an empirical study of Singapore, an aspiring global city-state, I offer an analysis of how the state-sponsored cosmopolitan project is contested by Singapore citizens. I also present evidence to highlight the contradictions of belonging and citizenship in a transnational world, with particular reference to the postcolonial racial and nationality dynamics that inflect these discourses. Négocier l'appartenance et les perceptions de la citoyenneté dans un monde transnational: Singapour comme ville cosmopolite? Les mappages complexes des mouvements des personnes, du capital, des images et des idées à travers les espaces urbains mondiaux posent un défi particulier aux états-nations qui sont très fortement intégrés dans le circuit international du capital. Singapour, ville-état mondiale en croissance, est le sujet d'une étude empirique dans laquelle je présente une analyse du projet cosmopolite soutenu par l'état et comment ce projet est contesté par les citoyens de Singapour. Je présente également des éléments de preuve pour faire ressortir les contradictions entre l'appartenance et la citoyenneté dans un monde transnational, en précisant entre autres les dynamiques qui touchent aux identités raciales et nationales postcoloniales qui pèsent sur ces discours. Mots-clefs: appartenance, citoyenneté, mobilité transnationale, cosmopolitanisme, Singapour. La negociación de pertenencia e ideas de ciudadanía en un mundo transnacional: Singapur, ¿un cosmópolis? Los complejos mapeos de la entrada y salida de personas, capital, imágenes e ideas en los espacios de ciudades globales crean desafíos particulares para naciones-Estados, los cuales están estrechamente vinculados al circuito internacional de capital. Por un estudio empírico de Singapur, que aspira a ser reconocido como ciudad-estado global, ofrezco un análisis de cómo los ciudadanos de Singapur contestan este proyecto cosmopólito patrocinado por el Estado. También presento pruebas para destacar las contradicciones inherentes en las nociones de pertenencia y ciudadanía en un mundo transnacional, con referencia particular a la dinámica racial y de la dinámica de nacionalidad poscolonial que salpican estos discursos. Palabras claves: pertenencia, ciudadanía, movilidad transnacional, cosmopolitanismo, Singapur. Keywords: belongingcitizenshiptransnational mobilitycosmopolitanismSingapore Acknowledgements I would like to express my grateful appreciation to Shirlena Huang and Brenda Yeoh for their supervision when this study was carried out. I also wish to thank Claire Dwyer, Linda McDowell, Russell Hitchings and the anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Notes 1 ‘Singlish’ refers to a form of pidgin English commonly used in Singapore. 2 The Esplanade Theatres on the Bay is Singapore's premier performing arts venue. It was constructed by the government with the vision of thrusting Singapore into the international arena as a global city for the arts. 3 The mix of languages employed created two challenges. First, the limited dialect fluency of the author sometimes restricted effective communication with the participants. Second, although terms such as ‘cosmopolitan’ and ‘heartlander’ could be translated into Mandarin by referring to the Chinese-language newspapers, there was no direct translation in the vernacular dialects. The terms had to be interpreted into colloquial speech, hence inevitably altering their nuances for subsequent discussion. These difficulties highlight the complexity of executing group discussions in a multilingual setting. Fortunately, the interactive setting of focus-group discussions helped circumvent these difficulties by enlisting the co-facilitator and other more multilingual participants to communicate difficult questions and thoughts. 4 Young school children in Singapore are segregated according to their learning abilities: the brightest students go to EM1 and the weakest students are streamed to EM3. The majority of students end up in the band in-between called EM2. There is considerable parental and societal pressure for children not to end up in EM3. 5 The CPF, or Central Provident Fund, is a compulsory savings account administered by the Singapore government and consisting of contributions from employers and employees. CPF funds are used to purchase homes as well as pay medical bills and children's tertiary education, provided enough money is left for retirement. It is the cornerstone of the social compact between the Singapore government and its citizens. 6 PR is an acronym commonly used by Singaporeans to refer to permanent residency. 7 The full cost of upgrading a flat is estimated to range from S$42,400 to $67,200 ( < http://library.thinkquest.org/C006891/hdb.html>, accessed 3 June 2005). 8 The Singapore government has installed categories of passes for the employment of foreigners: holders of work-permits are unskilled or semi-skilled foreign workers, whereas holders of employment passes normally possess acceptable degrees, professional qualifications or specialist skills, and earn above S$2500 per month.