Immigration and the national narrative: Rethinking corporatism in Singapore

Abstract

This article argues that the corporatist narrative of governance in Singapore is losing narrative rationality due primarily to large-scale immigration to Singapore. The real or perceived threat from such immigrants has galvanized Singaporeans from different ethnic groups such that a strong Singaporean identity has emerged. As a result, the once strict artificial differences required for the corpora-tist narrative to be believable, that is, its narrative rationality, are being gradually eroded. The People's Action Party (PAP) will have to either repair the narrative rationality of corporatism or develop an alternative one that is more relevant in order to continue its narrative dominance of the political space in Singapore.