Developing an analytical framework on social cohesion in Singapore : reflections from the framing of social cohesion debates in the OECD and Europe

Official discourse in Singapore on social cohesion is often framed along the broad parameters of achieving racial and religious harmony. Many policies – formal and informal – and several laws evolved to manage these two aspects of society. Yet, as Singapore developed and with a much more complex so...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hassan, Nurhidayah
Other Authors: EU Centre in Singapore
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/103877
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/19392
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Official discourse in Singapore on social cohesion is often framed along the broad parameters of achieving racial and religious harmony. Many policies – formal and informal – and several laws evolved to manage these two aspects of society. Yet, as Singapore developed and with a much more complex socioeconomic environment both domestically and externally, there is perhaps a need to re-look the discourse and framework for discussing social cohesion. This working paper takes a critical look at how the issue of social cohesion is framed in academic literature and policy discussions in Europe and the OECD, and tries to develop a broader analytical framework that could be useful in the Singapore context as it struggles with the multiple fault lines in society (beyond race and religion) that have emerged in the last decade or so.