Michael D. Barr

Singapore gained independence in 1965, a city-state in a world of nation-states. Yet its long and complex history reaches much farther back. Blending modernity and tradition, ideologies and ethnicities, a peculiar set of factors make Singapore what it is today. In this thematic study of the island nation, Michael D. Barr proposes a new approach to understand this development. From...

Michael Barr explores both the political and the institutional logic behind the networks of power at work in one of Asia’s most prosperous countries, the city-state of Singapore. Barr charts the creation of a national elite in the 1960s, its consolidation as a multi-generational ruling elite in the 1980s, and the twists and turns of its trajectory thereafter. He argues...

Michael Barr explores both the political and the institutional logic behind the networks of power at work in one of Asia’s most prosperous countries, the city-state of Singapore. Barr charts the creation of a national elite in the 1960s, its consolidation as a multi-generational ruling elite in the 1980s, and the twists and turns of its trajectory thereafter. He argues...