EXPLORING (DE)POLITICISATION: A CASE STUDY OF MIGRANT WORKER WELFARE IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The concept of depoliticisation has been increasingly used over the last decade to examine the influence of neoliberalism on democratic politics. Yet this rise in use is not always matched by conceptual or analytical refinement, given the complexity of grappling with this relatively abstract concept. At the same time, recent uses of the term in migrant labour and advocacy studies suggest promising entry points for using the lens of depoliticisation to further uncover the ways in which inherently political problems of migrant worker welfare are claimed, managed, and denied. It is within this intellectual context that I make a modest but distinctive contribution by framing institutional arrangements and discourse regarding low-wage migrant labour policies in Singapore in the language of politicisation and depoliticisation (henceforth taken together as (de)politicisation), while furthering the empirical study and development of the concept. Being a major migrant-receiving state known for its effective implementation of a temporary migration regime as an economic growth model, Singapore provides an illuminating case study for this conceptual investigation. Drawing on a novel, ‘plural’ approach that accommodates the two theoretical perspectives, thematic analysis was carried out using secondary research, semi-structured interviews with prominent migrant worker advocates and a large number of documents, including newspaper articles published between 1989 and 2020. Focusing on problems of abuse and wage theft faced by the two largest migrant worker groups in Singapore, five themes were identified as salient. I argue that the choice between ‘broad’ and ‘narrow’ conceptions of (de)politicisation is problematic as these concepts have both ‘broad’ and ‘narrow’ resonance, both theoretically and empirically. Thus, this thesis constitutes a first step towards a more rounded and sophisticated account of the phenomenon. Moreover, I show that various forms of depoliticisation reveal societal dynamics which shift public attention away from policy choices and the regulatory environment that are complicit in heightening the vulnerabilities of migrant workers. This has profound implications for the ways in which the public perceives and understands the migrant worker situation when transgressions or inadequacies are exposed and opens up new lines of inquiry for migrant labour and advocacy scholars and practitioners alike. Ultimately, my thesis demonstrates the value and utility of the concept for sensitising researchers to the intricacies of contemporary patterns of governance and, in turn, state-societal relations.