Abstract
That Singapore is paradoxically both small and a heavyweight, and both affluent and yet vulnerable to global trade disruptions, implicitly captures the inherent awkwardness of the city-state’s dualistic nature. The Lion City straddles the spectrum between small and middle powers, and even has qualities of ideational and material greatness that influence China in its economic model of development. Awkwardness arises because Singapore cannot fit comfortably in either of these analytical concepts: it sits between small and middle powerdom.
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Notes
- 1.
Andrew F. Cooper, Richard A. Higgott, and Kim R. Nossal, Relocating Middle Powers: Australia and Canada in a Changing World Order (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1993), 17–19; Jeffrey Robertson, “Middle-Power Definitions: Confusion Reigns Supreme,” Australian Journal of International Affairs 71, no. 4 (2017): 355–370.
- 2.
Peng Er Lam, “The Singapore Paradox: The ‘Little Red Dot’ as a ‘Middle Power’,” in Rethinking Middle Powers in the Asian Century: New Theories, New Cases, eds. T. Struye de Swielande, D. Vandamme, D. Walton, and T. Wilkins (London: Routledge, 2019), 189–199.
- 3.
Gabriele Abbondanza and Thomas Wilkins, “The Case for Awkward Powers,” in Awkward Powers: Escaping Traditional Great and Middle Power Theory, eds. Gabriele Abbondanza and Thomas Wilkins (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), 3–39.
- 4.
Ankit Panda, “Singapore: A Small Asian Heavyweight,” Council on Foreign Relations, published 16 April 2020, accessed May 25, 2020, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/singapore-small-asian-heavyweight.
- 5.
Singapore’s ancient foundation myth is found in The Malay Annals. According to these Annals, Singapore was named after a lion that had been spotted by a prince in search of a new capital for his empire while hunting. Singapura—its Malay name—literally means Lion City. See John Leyden, trans., The Malay Annals, with an introduction by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Ormf and Brown, 1821), 40–44.
- 6.
Peng Er Lam, “The Singapore Paradox: The ‘Little Red Dot’ as a ‘Middle Power’,” in Rethinking Middle Powers in the Asian Century: New Theories, New Cases, eds. T. Struye de Swielande, D. Vandamme, D. Walton, and T. Wilkins (London: Routledge, 2019), 189–199.
- 7.
“Special Report: Singapore: Foreign Policy and National Identity: A Little Red Dot in a Sea of Green,” The Economist, July 16, 2015.
- 8.
Saskia Sassen, “Rise of the Niche Global City,” The Straits Times, September 7, 2015, accessed May 26, 2020, https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/rise-of-the-niche-global-city.
- 9.
The official government line regarding the reserves states: “The full size of the reserves is never revealed for strategic reasons, but it is estimated to be over $1 trillion”. See Yuen Sin, “Singapore Budget 2018: Tapping More into the Reserves May Erode Savings in the Long Run,” The Straits Times, February 20, 2018, accessed May 26, 2020, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tapping-more-of-reserves-may-erode-savings-in-long-run.
- 10.
Then Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean noted: “Since 1996, Singapore has received more than 55,000 Chinese officials and cadres on training programmes”. See Teo Chee Hean, “Opening Address by DPM and Coordinating Minister for National Security, Teo Chee Hean, ‘Achieving Our Peoples’ Aspirations for Better Lives Through Better Policies, Engagement and People Development’ at the 7th Singapore-China Forum on Leadership” (speech, Yan’an, China, 14 April 2019), Prime Minister’s Office (Singapore), accessed May 25, 2020, https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/DPM-Teo-Chee-Hean-at-the-7th-Singapore-China-Forum-on-Leadership.
- 11.
Stephan Ortmann and Mark Richard Thomson, “China and the ‘Singapore Model’,” Journal of Democracy 27, no. 1 (January 2016), 39–48.
- 12.
Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power (New York: Vintage Books, 1995), 435.
- 13.
“Overall Best Countries Ranking: 2020 Rankings”, US News and World Report, 2020, published 2020, accessed May 25, 2020, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/overall-rankings.
- 14.
In its Asia Soft Power 10 report, Singapore is ranked third after Japan and South Korea. See Portland and University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy, The Soft Power 30: A Global Ranking of Soft Power 2019 (California: USC Center on Public Diplomacy, 2019), accessed May 25, 2020, https://softpower30.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/The-Soft-Power-30-Report-2019-1.pdf.
- 15.
Lowy Institute, “Asia Power Index 2019: Singapore”, published 2019, accessed May 25, 2020, https://power.lowyinstitute.org/countries.php?profile=SG.
- 16.
Ibid.
- 17.
Ibid.
- 18.
Ben Brimelow, “How a Tiny City-State Became a Military Powerhouse with the Best Air Force and Navy in Southeast Asia,” Business Insider, April 8, 2018.
- 19.
Andrew F. Cooper, Richard A. Higgott, and Kim R. Nossal, Relocating Middle Powers: Australia and Canada in a Changing World Order (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1993), 20.
- 20.
Kishore Mahbubani, “Qatar: Big Lessons from a Small Country,” The Straits Times, July 1, 2017, accessed May 26, 2020, https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/qatar-big-lessons-from-a-small-country.
- 21.
Kishore wrote: “They didn’t just break off relations. Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, the Maldives, Libya and Yemen have closed their airspace for landings and take-offs between their countries and Qatar. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE have also closed all transport links by air, land and sea. This has caused some suffering for Qatar because as much as 40% of its food comes over the Saudi border”. Ibid.
- 22.
Ibid.
- 23.
Ibid.
- 24.
Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, “Minister Shanmugam, Diplomats Bilahari and Ong Keng Yong say Prof Mahbubani’s View on Singapore’s Foreign Policy ‘Flawed’,” The Straits Times, July 2, 2017, accessed May 26, 2020, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/prof-kishore-mahbubanis-view-on-singapores-foreign-policy-deeply-flawed-ambassador-at.
- 25.
For the full text of Bilahari Kausikan’s Facebook post, see Bilahari Kausikan, “Kishore’s Article in the ST of 1st July, the Link Is Below, Is Deeply Flawed,” Facebook, July 2, 2017, accessed May 25, 2020, https://www.facebook.com/bilahari.kausikan/posts/1948237095433710.
- 26.
He emphatically concluded: “…we recognize asymmetries of size and power… but that does not mean we must grovel or accept subordination as a norm of relationships”. Ibid.
- 27.
Joshua Kurlantzick, “The Belligerents,” The New Republic, January 27, 2011, accessed May 26, 2020, https://newrepublic.com/article/82211/china-foreign-policy.
- 28.
Tommy Koh, “China’s Perception of Singapore: 4 Areas of Misunderstanding,” The Straits Times, October 21, 2016, accessed May 26, 2020, https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/chinas-perception-of-singapore-4-areas-of-misunderstanding.
- 29.
Ibid.
- 30.
Ibid.
- 31.
See Lim Yan Liang, “Tommy Koh Rebuts View That Singapore Has Acted Against China,” The Straits Times, May 11, 2017, accessed May 26, 2020, https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/tommy-koh-rebuts-view-that-singapore-has-acted-against-china.
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Lam, P.E. (2022). Singapore as an Awkward “Little Red Dot”: Between the Small and Middle Power Status. In: Abbondanza, G., Wilkins, T.S. (eds) Awkward Powers: Escaping Traditional Great and Middle Power Theory. Global Political Transitions. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0370-9_14
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