THE LEVIATHAN PRUNES THE BANYAN TREE: CALIBRATED LIBERALIZATION AND THE SPECTRUM OF CONTROL IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This dissertation aims to investigate the strategies of control employed by the Leviathan in Singapore. It contends that a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the Leviathan?s hegemony must include an understanding of its spectrum of approaches towards political control, which this study terms the spectrum of control. I argue that using such a framework allows us to understand the varied and calibrated nature of PAP?s approach. I also add to the spectrum by offering a new theory of calibrated liberalization which I contend is used in tandem with other approaches of coercion and co-optation. Using the case-studies of three protest movements, namely the Central Provident Fund (CPF) protests in 2014, the National Library Board (NLB) saga in 2014, and the furore over the Thaipusam Festival in 2015, this comparative study thus focuses on theory development, using detailed case-studies to examine the shift in government strategies of control.