Stabilizing the domino: US economic support to Singapore during the Cold War

This thesis focusses on the relation between Singapore’s economic development and US geopolitical interests. Problematically, Singapore’s economic development has been predominantly analysed through an inward-centric and economically-oriented lens, which has prescribed a neglect of external geopolitical drivers. This thesis aims to fill this gap by researching Singapore’s post-war industrialization from an approach that considers external geopolitical influences as an important driver of economic development. In line with this approach, I focus on the relation between US geopolitical interests and Singapore’s post-war industrialization by building on the main theoretical insights from hegemonic stability theory and economic statecraft. Interestingly, the empirical findings of this thesis establish a substantive relation between US geopolitical interests, channelled through capital support to the city-state, and Singapore’s economic development. This is based on the empirical finding...Show moreThis thesis focusses on the relation between Singapore’s economic development and US geopolitical interests. Problematically, Singapore’s economic development has been predominantly analysed through an inward-centric and economically-oriented lens, which has prescribed a neglect of external geopolitical drivers. This thesis aims to fill this gap by researching Singapore’s post-war industrialization from an approach that considers external geopolitical influences as an important driver of economic development. In line with this approach, I focus on the relation between US geopolitical interests and Singapore’s post-war industrialization by building on the main theoretical insights from hegemonic stability theory and economic statecraft. Interestingly, the empirical findings of this thesis establish a substantive relation between US geopolitical interests, channelled through capital support to the city-state, and Singapore’s economic development. This is based on the empirical finding that Singapore received economic aid in the late-1960s when US geopolitical interests were threatened by suddenly emerging Singaporean instability. Accordingly, by having connected Singapore’s economic development to US Cold War interests, this thesis has complemented the contemporary state of the literature.Show less

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Stabilizing the domino: US economic support to Singapore during the Cold War