More than four in five respondents believe that social and political unrest in neighboring countries affects Singapore. And half of the sample believes the international community will come to their aid if Singapore is attacked.
Despite this healthy geopolitical realism, Singaporeans need to remember that the domestic social structure and the structure of the global security ecosystem are fluid and unstable.
In the months immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, international aid in the form of arms and humanitarian aid flooded into Kyiv. However, towards the end of 2023, donor fatigue is setting in. Western allies are now questioning their ability to maintain generosity.
More recently, terrorist attacks against Israel by the Hamas group have triggered a wave of sympathy for the former and harsh condemnation of the latter, even among politically apathetic Singaporeans.
But long before the end of the year, anecdotes indicate that many others, especially within the Muslim community, are shaken by the humanitarian disaster in Gaza caused by Israel’s military retaliation.
Singapore has prospered because it has stable institutions and a strong cohesive society, and because its trading partners are successful and a rising tide lifts all boats to the benefit of the city-state.
However, even with support from global partners and the sentiment of diverse communities, there is no guarantee that this situation will continue indefinitely.
“Beg your neighbor”
The principle of relativism is well established in the study of intergroup identity and nationalism.
In short, what matters is not what you have, but how you compare to others.
In order to defeat your opponent, you may sometimes have to give up what you hold dear.
To illustrate what this means, consider the story of Vladimir’s Choice, a famous Eastern European myth explained by the late psychology professor Jim Sidanius.
“Vladimir was a terribly poor peasant. One day God came to Vladimir and said: Everything you desire will be yours! Naturally, when Vladimir heard this news, But God added a warning: “Vladimir, everything I give you will be given twice to your neighbor.” After hearing this, Vladimir stood silently for a long time, and then said, “Okay, God, please take out one of my eyes.”
In fact, as former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh once reportedly said, “We love death just as our enemy (Israel) loves life!”
The United States and China have been at odds over a number of issues, from naval power in the South China Sea to computer chips, artificial intelligence and regional political influence.
Singapore, with a Chinese majority that values the rule of law, is a natural battleground for both powers, with both aiming to win Singaporeans backing their policies.
Prolonged conflict and hostility between the two countries in 2023, as well as the quagmire of the Middle East, could certainly have an impact on Singapore’s racial and religious harmony.
We need to ensure that corrosive racial and religious discourse does not infiltrate our systems.
Importantly, small states are not doomed to suffer. But to survive in a new ambiguous and polarized world, we must understand the omnipresent constraints as small points and be fair but distinct Singaporeans, even as problems rage on in other parts of the world. It is necessary to strengthen this perspective.
About the author:
Dr. Leong Chan-Hoong is a Senior Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.