Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/144134
Title: | GUN, GREEN AND BLUE: SURVIVAL GOVERNMENTALITY IN SINGAPORE’S WATERSCAPES | Authors: | STANLEY YIN YU-SHENG | Keywords: | PAP, Singapore, Survival, Geopolitics, Territory, Governmentality, Water | Issue Date: | 2018 | Citation: | STANLEY YIN YU-SHENG (2018). GUN, GREEN AND BLUE: SURVIVAL GOVERNMENTALITY IN SINGAPORE’S WATERSCAPES. ScholarBank@NUS Repository. | Abstract: | Singapore is a rare example of a city working towards self-sufficiency in its water supply. While many have studied its water management policies, few have investigated the ‘survival’ discourses that have been used by the government to rationalize it. ‘Survival’ has been described by many academics as a hegemonic one-word political ideology of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) government in Singapore. However, these works do not trace the development and representation of ‘survival’ as a discourse to the Singaporean population. Neither do they investigate how the discourse has fueled the PAP’s vision of self-sufficiency in water. This thesis investigates the relationships between ‘survival discourses’ and Singapore’s water supply. In doing so, it also unpacks how the PAP has sought to create a ‘survival’ mindset in the population through ‘survival’ discourses and Singapore’s waterscapes. To facilitate this, a framework of ‘spatial governmentality’ is presented to analyze the various spatial problematizations, programs, rationalizations, interventions and technologies utilized by the PAP in the discourses of ‘survival’ and water. The framework also introduces how geopolitics proves vital in governmentality analysis and urban studies. Critical discourse analysis in the form of a Foucauldian dispositive analysis is used to trace a genealogy of ‘survival’ discourses in Singapore’s water supply. The data analyzed comprises speeches and press releases from the National Archives of Singapore, newspaper articles from Singapore’s three main English newspapers and numerous government books, publications and policy documents on water. The study reveals how ‘survival’ discourses are based on the problematizations of Singapore’s territorial qualities and geopolitical constructions. Both of which would subsequently be used to rationalize the need for ‘self-sufficient’ water infrastructures and mentality changes in the population. It also shows how ‘survival’ later transits into a problematization of the environment. | URI: | https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/144134 |
Appears in Collections: | Bachelor's Theses |
Show full item record
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | Access Settings | Version | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A0121515W Thesis PDF.pdf | 6.45 MB | Adobe PDF | RESTRICTED | None | Log In |
Google ScholarTM
Check
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.