Democratic backsliding in illiberal Singapore

被引:4
作者
Tan, Netina [1 ]
Preece, Cassandra [1 ]
机构
[1] McMaster Univ, Polit Sci, Hamilton, ON, Canada
关键词
democracy; democratic backsliding; hybrid regimes; Singapore; HYBRID REGIMES; POLITICAL-PARTICIPATION; CENSORSHIP; INNOVATION; STABILITY; POWER;
D O I
10.1177/20578911221141090
中图分类号
D0 [政治学、政治理论];
学科分类号
0302 ; 030201 ;
摘要
Singapore is a well-known illiberal democracy, ruled by one party, the People's Action Party (PAP), uninterruptedly since 1959. The rise of disinformation, the leadership succession crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have posed challenges to the ruling party's technocratic, 'soft-authoritarian' governance style. Is it business as usual in Singapore? Or has its democracy backslid like its regional neighbours? Drawing on an established index of accountability and V-Dem's democratic indicators, our study investigates whether democratic institutions in hybrid regimes such as Singapore have changed. We find that mechanisms of diagonal accountability related to media and civil society have declined. Vertical and horizontal accountability remains weak as expected in a hybrid regime such as Singapore. The PAP government has returned to relying on the law as a 'fist in velvet glove' to muzzle dissent and constrain information that may last post pandemic.
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页码:25 / 49
页数:25
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