Studies in ethnicity and nationalism, Mar 21, 2024
While differences often threaten ethnonationalist projects, the Singaporean state has rendered a ... more While differences often threaten ethnonationalist projects, the Singaporean state has rendered a particular configuration of racial-religious diversity constitutive of nationalism in the city-state. In this paper, we approach nationalism through an often-overlooked avenue: intangible heritage such as everyday myths, customs, and taboos. A total of 150 interviews were conducted in three neighbourhoods in Singapore, where guided conversations were conducted regarding common customs, myths, and taboos in individuals’ families and communities. We found that respondents imagined their (state-designated) racial-religious groups as communities of shared customs, while also demonstrating familiarity, even deference, to the customs of other groups. However, this intimacy with other groups’ practices did not undermine the integrity of respondents’ own group identity, since they remained committed to their cultural practices as embodying ancient and useful – even “scientific” – knowledge. The data thus showed that citizens are deeply reflexive about the nature, origins, and justification of the practices they undertake. This domain of everyday practices was neither simply defined into being by the state, nor is it some heroic realm of defiance: instead, it is one where people display creativity and agency in making sense of cherished cultural similarities and differences, all while using state-prescribed categories as resources for their meaning-making.
Lockdowns were widely used to reduce transmission of COVID-19 and prevent health care services fr... more Lockdowns were widely used to reduce transmission of COVID-19 and prevent health care services from being overwhelmed. While these mitigation measures helped to reduce loss of life, they also disrupted the everyday lives of billions of people. We use data from a survey of Singaporean citizens and permanent residents during the peak of the lockdown period between April and July 2020 to evaluate the social and economic impacts of Singapore’s COVID-19 mitigation measures. Over 60% of the population experienced negative impacts on their social lives and 40% on household economics. Regression models show the negative economic impacts were influenced by socio-economic and demographic factors that align with underlying societal vulnerabilities. When dealing with large-scale crisis’ like COVID-19, slow-onset disasters, and climate change, some of the burdens of mitigation measures can constitute a crisis in their own right – and this could be experienced unevenly by vulnerable segments of t...
This article that forms part of a Special Section on ‘Invisible Privilege in Asia’ is committed t... more This article that forms part of a Special Section on ‘Invisible Privilege in Asia’ is committed to expanding the theoretical debates in race and ethnic studies, which has been previously critiqued as a field that has focused more on the gathering of empirical observations than the development of theory. This critique is even more pronounced within the realm of studying race and ethnicity in Asia, where research is often siloed within the contexts of national boundaries and area studies. While national, sub-regional and other specificities exist, here we provide a framework that identifies particular practices and structural processes that are best understood as indicative of a form of invisible, or latent ‘privilege’. In paying attention to the geographical and historical specificities of how privilege functions, this article seeks not to uncritically impose a definition, but understand how and when ‘privilege’ provides a useful analytical framework in the absence of, or in collusio...
This introduction to the special section ‘Invisible Privilege in Asia’ suggests a framework withi... more This introduction to the special section ‘Invisible Privilege in Asia’ suggests a framework within which studies of privilege in Asia can be situated. Animated by a global politics of Blackness and social movements that have renewed the focus on racialised inequality and hierarchy, we use this moment to urge an interrogation of the conceptual productivity of the notion of privilege. This project is particularly significant within a region that is often seen only as empirical site and not as a space for theory-building in the social sciences.
The visibility of racism and xenophobia in Singapore has become heightened recently, much of it d... more The visibility of racism and xenophobia in Singapore has become heightened recently, much of it directed against individuals perceived to be migrants from India. Drawing from recent interviews with middle class Indian migrants to Singapore, this chapter unpacks the experiences of being a ‘double minority’ in the city-state. The dual and intersecting statuses of being identified as ethnically Indian and an immigrant produce subject positions from which we can explore shifting notions of national identity, racialisation and the politics of immigrant integration in a multiracial city-state.
This chapter examines the analytical productivity of superdiversity as a perspective in conversat... more This chapter examines the analytical productivity of superdiversity as a perspective in conversation with issues of nationalism, citizenship, and immigration from an empirical perspective that draws primarily from studies of (im)migration in highly globalized city-states with intensely regulated migration regimes. In relation to concepts of “intersectionality” and immigrant integration, it asks how superdiversity helps to interrogate key empirical and political questions of migration-led stratification and boundary-making. In doing so, the chapter suggests that superdiversity as a frame prompts scholars to be better primed to uncover complex intersections of difference that cannot be encompassed by traditional binaries of Black–White, citizen–foreigner, or majority–minority. This chapter shows how the superdiversity lens disrupts assumptions made by a Eurocentric migration paradigm that is less suited for understanding empirical social realities in contexts in contemporary Asia. How...
Despite rapid and large-scale immigration in the last 15 years, the citizen and permanent residen... more Despite rapid and large-scale immigration in the last 15 years, the citizen and permanent resident (PR) composition of Singapore’s multiracial demographic has remained relatively unchanged. Within the Chinese, Malay, and Indian categories, it is only the Indian component that has witnessed a two per cent increase. This is primarily to do with the naturalization of new citizens and extensions of PRs, than increasing birth rates amongst the existing population. This incorporation of new Indian migrants and new citizens into the existing Singaporean ‘Indian’ category has been built on the assumption that a shared racial identity is more significant than the differences that characterize these groups. Their integration into a larger Singaporean citizenry and civil society can then be seen as more of a political project, rather than a simultaneously cultural or social one. A shared ethnicity or ‘race’, however, has not meant that integration has been an entirely smooth process. In fact, there are emergent and widening fractures along lines of socio-economic class, religion, language and culture. This chapter will discuss how these divisions have coalesced around certain non-mutually exclusive tropes: a “civilisational” discourse, North vs South, and authentic Singaporeaness vs the foreign Other. These recurrent themes are ones perpetuated by both newcomers and established residents. In demonstrating the everyday ways in which these fissures are enacted, this chapter cautions against easy categorizations of racial identity and argues that socio-economic class divides and visible signs of status are more significant factors to consider in integration than perceived, and often misguided notions of cultural and racial affinity. It calls for a broader-based consensus around new immigrant integration; one that does not rely on ‘race’, but shared notions of civic and national belonging.
The Singapore government instituted a set of ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB) measures in April 2020 to com... more The Singapore government instituted a set of ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB) measures in April 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These included restricting international travel, closing non-essential businesses, telecommuting, home-based- learning, wearing faces masks in public spaces, temperature screening, rigorous contract tracing, and isolating infected and exposed persons. The COVID-19 CB measures helped the government control COVID-19 transmission in Singapore but disrupted economic and social life. This NTS Insight presents data from a representative survey on the social and economic impacts of Singapore’s COVID-19 mitigation measures during the CB period on Singaporean citizens and permanent residents from 7 May to 16 July 2020. Our results show that the top three cited disruptions caused by the CB were all social in nature. However, just under half of all respondents reported some form of direct economic disruption – while up to 80% of respondents expressed concerns about their longer-term financial situation. Finally, our disaggregated analysis shows that some of the negative impacts of the CB period disproportionately impacted potentially vulnerable segments of the population.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the Singapore government instituted a series of mitigation measures ... more During the COVID-19 pandemic the Singapore government instituted a series of mitigation measures to limit local COVID-19 transmission. These mitigation measures, especially during the peak of the official ‘Circuit Breaker’ period between April and June 2020, helped contain the pandemic but also caused significant social and economic disruptions. Singapore experienced high levels of compliance with these mandatory measures. However, more insight is needed into how residents within Singapore perceived the efficacy and value of these mitigation measures and how they weighted the potential cost-benefits of the burdens of the mitigation measures versus the potential personal and communal health benefits. This NTS Insight presents data from a representative survey on the perceptions of Singaporean citizens and permanent residents on COVID-19 mitigation measures conducted between May and July 2020. Our results show consistently high levels of agreement that the Singapore government was handling the COVID-19 crisis well or very well. We found consistently high levels of support for some mitigation measures and more guarded support for others. These levels of support are in some cases influenced by demographic variables. Our data shows that people believe the government should prioritize public health over economic and other considerations when formulating COVID- 19 policy. Our data also shows a high level of willingness to continue some of the main mitigation measures (social distancing, wearing masks, health screening, etc.) for longer as needed, but with some fatigue with home-based learning. Furthermore, we found that respondents put more emphasis on their psychological well-being than their privacy.
Studies in ethnicity and nationalism, Mar 21, 2024
While differences often threaten ethnonationalist projects, the Singaporean state has rendered a ... more While differences often threaten ethnonationalist projects, the Singaporean state has rendered a particular configuration of racial-religious diversity constitutive of nationalism in the city-state. In this paper, we approach nationalism through an often-overlooked avenue: intangible heritage such as everyday myths, customs, and taboos. A total of 150 interviews were conducted in three neighbourhoods in Singapore, where guided conversations were conducted regarding common customs, myths, and taboos in individuals’ families and communities. We found that respondents imagined their (state-designated) racial-religious groups as communities of shared customs, while also demonstrating familiarity, even deference, to the customs of other groups. However, this intimacy with other groups’ practices did not undermine the integrity of respondents’ own group identity, since they remained committed to their cultural practices as embodying ancient and useful – even “scientific” – knowledge. The data thus showed that citizens are deeply reflexive about the nature, origins, and justification of the practices they undertake. This domain of everyday practices was neither simply defined into being by the state, nor is it some heroic realm of defiance: instead, it is one where people display creativity and agency in making sense of cherished cultural similarities and differences, all while using state-prescribed categories as resources for their meaning-making.
Lockdowns were widely used to reduce transmission of COVID-19 and prevent health care services fr... more Lockdowns were widely used to reduce transmission of COVID-19 and prevent health care services from being overwhelmed. While these mitigation measures helped to reduce loss of life, they also disrupted the everyday lives of billions of people. We use data from a survey of Singaporean citizens and permanent residents during the peak of the lockdown period between April and July 2020 to evaluate the social and economic impacts of Singapore’s COVID-19 mitigation measures. Over 60% of the population experienced negative impacts on their social lives and 40% on household economics. Regression models show the negative economic impacts were influenced by socio-economic and demographic factors that align with underlying societal vulnerabilities. When dealing with large-scale crisis’ like COVID-19, slow-onset disasters, and climate change, some of the burdens of mitigation measures can constitute a crisis in their own right – and this could be experienced unevenly by vulnerable segments of t...
This article that forms part of a Special Section on ‘Invisible Privilege in Asia’ is committed t... more This article that forms part of a Special Section on ‘Invisible Privilege in Asia’ is committed to expanding the theoretical debates in race and ethnic studies, which has been previously critiqued as a field that has focused more on the gathering of empirical observations than the development of theory. This critique is even more pronounced within the realm of studying race and ethnicity in Asia, where research is often siloed within the contexts of national boundaries and area studies. While national, sub-regional and other specificities exist, here we provide a framework that identifies particular practices and structural processes that are best understood as indicative of a form of invisible, or latent ‘privilege’. In paying attention to the geographical and historical specificities of how privilege functions, this article seeks not to uncritically impose a definition, but understand how and when ‘privilege’ provides a useful analytical framework in the absence of, or in collusio...
This introduction to the special section ‘Invisible Privilege in Asia’ suggests a framework withi... more This introduction to the special section ‘Invisible Privilege in Asia’ suggests a framework within which studies of privilege in Asia can be situated. Animated by a global politics of Blackness and social movements that have renewed the focus on racialised inequality and hierarchy, we use this moment to urge an interrogation of the conceptual productivity of the notion of privilege. This project is particularly significant within a region that is often seen only as empirical site and not as a space for theory-building in the social sciences.
The visibility of racism and xenophobia in Singapore has become heightened recently, much of it d... more The visibility of racism and xenophobia in Singapore has become heightened recently, much of it directed against individuals perceived to be migrants from India. Drawing from recent interviews with middle class Indian migrants to Singapore, this chapter unpacks the experiences of being a ‘double minority’ in the city-state. The dual and intersecting statuses of being identified as ethnically Indian and an immigrant produce subject positions from which we can explore shifting notions of national identity, racialisation and the politics of immigrant integration in a multiracial city-state.
This chapter examines the analytical productivity of superdiversity as a perspective in conversat... more This chapter examines the analytical productivity of superdiversity as a perspective in conversation with issues of nationalism, citizenship, and immigration from an empirical perspective that draws primarily from studies of (im)migration in highly globalized city-states with intensely regulated migration regimes. In relation to concepts of “intersectionality” and immigrant integration, it asks how superdiversity helps to interrogate key empirical and political questions of migration-led stratification and boundary-making. In doing so, the chapter suggests that superdiversity as a frame prompts scholars to be better primed to uncover complex intersections of difference that cannot be encompassed by traditional binaries of Black–White, citizen–foreigner, or majority–minority. This chapter shows how the superdiversity lens disrupts assumptions made by a Eurocentric migration paradigm that is less suited for understanding empirical social realities in contexts in contemporary Asia. How...
Despite rapid and large-scale immigration in the last 15 years, the citizen and permanent residen... more Despite rapid and large-scale immigration in the last 15 years, the citizen and permanent resident (PR) composition of Singapore’s multiracial demographic has remained relatively unchanged. Within the Chinese, Malay, and Indian categories, it is only the Indian component that has witnessed a two per cent increase. This is primarily to do with the naturalization of new citizens and extensions of PRs, than increasing birth rates amongst the existing population. This incorporation of new Indian migrants and new citizens into the existing Singaporean ‘Indian’ category has been built on the assumption that a shared racial identity is more significant than the differences that characterize these groups. Their integration into a larger Singaporean citizenry and civil society can then be seen as more of a political project, rather than a simultaneously cultural or social one. A shared ethnicity or ‘race’, however, has not meant that integration has been an entirely smooth process. In fact, there are emergent and widening fractures along lines of socio-economic class, religion, language and culture. This chapter will discuss how these divisions have coalesced around certain non-mutually exclusive tropes: a “civilisational” discourse, North vs South, and authentic Singaporeaness vs the foreign Other. These recurrent themes are ones perpetuated by both newcomers and established residents. In demonstrating the everyday ways in which these fissures are enacted, this chapter cautions against easy categorizations of racial identity and argues that socio-economic class divides and visible signs of status are more significant factors to consider in integration than perceived, and often misguided notions of cultural and racial affinity. It calls for a broader-based consensus around new immigrant integration; one that does not rely on ‘race’, but shared notions of civic and national belonging.
The Singapore government instituted a set of ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB) measures in April 2020 to com... more The Singapore government instituted a set of ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB) measures in April 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These included restricting international travel, closing non-essential businesses, telecommuting, home-based- learning, wearing faces masks in public spaces, temperature screening, rigorous contract tracing, and isolating infected and exposed persons. The COVID-19 CB measures helped the government control COVID-19 transmission in Singapore but disrupted economic and social life. This NTS Insight presents data from a representative survey on the social and economic impacts of Singapore’s COVID-19 mitigation measures during the CB period on Singaporean citizens and permanent residents from 7 May to 16 July 2020. Our results show that the top three cited disruptions caused by the CB were all social in nature. However, just under half of all respondents reported some form of direct economic disruption – while up to 80% of respondents expressed concerns about their longer-term financial situation. Finally, our disaggregated analysis shows that some of the negative impacts of the CB period disproportionately impacted potentially vulnerable segments of the population.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the Singapore government instituted a series of mitigation measures ... more During the COVID-19 pandemic the Singapore government instituted a series of mitigation measures to limit local COVID-19 transmission. These mitigation measures, especially during the peak of the official ‘Circuit Breaker’ period between April and June 2020, helped contain the pandemic but also caused significant social and economic disruptions. Singapore experienced high levels of compliance with these mandatory measures. However, more insight is needed into how residents within Singapore perceived the efficacy and value of these mitigation measures and how they weighted the potential cost-benefits of the burdens of the mitigation measures versus the potential personal and communal health benefits. This NTS Insight presents data from a representative survey on the perceptions of Singaporean citizens and permanent residents on COVID-19 mitigation measures conducted between May and July 2020. Our results show consistently high levels of agreement that the Singapore government was handling the COVID-19 crisis well or very well. We found consistently high levels of support for some mitigation measures and more guarded support for others. These levels of support are in some cases influenced by demographic variables. Our data shows that people believe the government should prioritize public health over economic and other considerations when formulating COVID- 19 policy. Our data also shows a high level of willingness to continue some of the main mitigation measures (social distancing, wearing masks, health screening, etc.) for longer as needed, but with some fatigue with home-based learning. Furthermore, we found that respondents put more emphasis on their psychological well-being than their privacy.
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Papers by Laavanya Kathiravelu