From Global City to ‘City of Villages’: Tracing the State Discourse of Cosmopolitanism in Modern Singaporean History

Since the 2011 general election, Singaporean state discourse (here political speeches, policy papers, and opinions in the state-regulated newspaper The Straits Times) has retreated from explicit discussion of cosmopolitanism and its social categories. This development does not necessarily signal the end of the state’s efforts to ‘cosmopolise’ Singapore’s people and places. Yet official disengagement with the language of cosmopolitanism does suggest an intriguing shift in the global city-state's rhetorical strategy. By historicising the state’s enthusiastic discussion of cosmopolitanism fifty years ago, alongside its later reconfigurations of cosmopolitanism and more recent silences on the topic, this essay attempts to shed light on when and how the discourse of global connectivity has served the state’s nation-building goals. Given the powerful influence of state discourse on Singapore’s political culture, this omission is likely to impact citizens’ expectations of their nation’s future. It further offers a useful case study in the response of states to anti-globalisation sentiment.