This essay analyzes the manner in which two states, The Commonwealth of the Bahamas and The Republic of Singapore, carry out politics within national boundaries. The following essay will discuss the political stability of both the Bahamas and Singapore, the degree to which each state has experienced recent regime change or significant political violence, and the role of identity politics. In addition, the following essay will answer whether ethnicity, race, or religion are salient factors in the political process in each state and the kind of redistributive policies that are in place in each state.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas has a very active and prosperous economy. Its geographic location in the Caribbean ensures tourism year-round. Politically, the Bahamas is very stable, a strong state. The Bahamian Government goes as far as to say that “We [The Commonwealth of the Bahamas] are one of the most politically stable countries in the world”(2018, The Islands Of The Bahamas). They attribute their political stability to their constitution, “based on the Westminster Model: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, The Executive Branch, The Legislative Branch, and Judicial Branch”(2018, The Islands Of The Bahamas) and their membership in the Commonwealth of Nations.
According to the international trade administration (2016), “the Bahamas has no history of politically motivated violence and, barring a few incidents leading up to the last general elections, the political process is violence-free and transparent. These incidents were relatively minor and included damage to political party installations and signage”. Bahamas According to the 2010 census, about 74 percent of the population are descendants of freed slaves brought from western Africa through the British slave trade, 15 percent of the Bahamian population are Haitian citizens and 11 percent of the population identifies as white. The majority of Bahamian share a strong religious, nearly 95 percent identified as Christians in the 2010 census (2018, The World Factbook: Bahamas).
The Bahamian people have a strong sense of unity. Representatives of the Bahamian people are consistent with the population and the people. In addition, ethnicity, race, or religion are salient factors in the political process. When the people vote they tend to vote for representatives that align with the values of the majority. Primordial factors have influenced the way that people have voted in the Bahamas.
In 1974 the Bahamian government pioneered the country's first social insurance program that provided benefits to qualified citizens for retirement, disability, and sickness. It as since helped many people and sparked other social programs. Unfortunately, over the past several years the Bahamian government has allocated more resources to tourism and sustaining the ecology that is being damaged or destroyed as a result, than wellness social programs. The wealth gap in very wide, there is an extremely uneven distribution of wealth.
Influential groups the Bahamas are large tourism corporations, Bahamas Constitution Party, Democratic National Alliance, Free National Movement, Progressive Liberal Party, and the United Democratic Party.
Singapore
Singapore's history is very bloody. Its favorable trading position caused constant colonial regime change. When the state was bombed and the native population that resided on the land that is today Singapore was exterminated the land began to populate with immigrants. The immigrants came from all across East Asia. The population today is split into three main ethnic categories. An estimated 74.3 percent of the population identify as Chinese, while 13.4 percent identify as Malays, and 9 percent identify as Indians. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, welcomed immigrants because he knew that, “The population needed to expand by continually attracting high-caliber people who would create employment, bring in much-needed capital and most importantly, pass on their key skills” (2015, Hussain).
After the death of Lee Kuan Yew in 2015, any people feared the next elections. People feared for the future of the country. They feared that the country would no longer hold its high political and economic position. People feared that the loss of Lee Kuan Yew’s firm, heavy hand, and opposition of communism would cause Singapore to become like everywhere else in the region, “a regress from democracy,” according to Council on Foreign Relations. In Malaysia there was evidence of rigged elections, in Thailand there was a military coup and there were persistent conflicts along the Burmese-Chinese border. In Mainland China, the economy was slowing down and citizens faced increasingly more rigid restrictions. The Philippines, ‘Asia’s oldest democracy’, was not as economically productive as Singapore.
Since Halimah Yacob was sworn in as Singapore's first female president there has been relative stability, the city-state continues to hold its position as a strong state and economy. Interestingly, it was the first time the president belonged to a particular ethnic group. Her competitors did not meet the presidential requirement. She is a member of the Muslim Malay minority, the dominating party is still the People’s Action Party (PAP). Normally presidents are supposed to be independent because, “authorities seek to foster harmony in a multicultural society dominated by ethnic Chinese”(2018, BBC). Multiculturalism was implemented constitutionally because in unofficial and official public institutions race is highly visible.
The city-state calls itself ‘ multiracial’, ‘multi-lingual’ and ‘multi-faith’ due to the fact that it allowed the state to use ‘multiculturalism’ as an ideological basis for the rationalization of policies and administrative practices on issues of race (2003, Huat). ‘Multiculturalism’ allows the government to justify certain actions ranging from allocation of land resources to preferential immigration treatment that welcomes professional workers in life sciences, technology, high-end business, and financial services. Multiculturalism justifies government funding of bigger better Mosques that may attract wealthy Saudi Arabians and Saudi Oil companies.
The major recorded incidences of post-independence Singapore of ethnic political violence are: The 2013 Little Indian Riot and the 1964 Race Riot. The 2013 little Indian riot was triggered by a bus that struck and killed a Indian Migrant worker. His death caused 400 people to gather illegally, overturn and burn police cars and the bus. Interestingly the exact reason for the riot is not stated but I can infer from my research on Singapore that migrant workers are treated very poorly and they most likely wanted justice as a minority group with limited rights and little money. As a result of the riot the government issued more restrictions targeted at migrant workers, they designated little India as a Liquor Control Zone meaning no liquor is sold on certain days and times of day, There is a greater police presence, new security camera installations, bus time restrictions that would restrict the movements of commuting migrant workers, and strict enforced regulations on when and where migrant workers can meet and congregate.
The 1964 race riots were ethnic riots that broke out in Singapore between the majority Chinese community and the minority Malay-Muslim community, 24 people were killed and 400 people were injured. The day was a holiday for the Malay- Muslim community hundreds of men, women and children had come from all parts of the city to celebrate. People gathered legally in the streets when fights broke out between a group of Chinese and Malay-Muslims, the conflict further escalated and the police struggled to control the two ethnic groups from fighting. Since then there have been no other major political or ethnic violence.
The wealth gap in Singapore is very wide. Although Singapore is an economic hub in East Asia, workers are treated poorly and are not paid well. As the wealth gap widens even further there will be even more division among people and violence will rise as people without economic advantages or liberties will start to rebel, such as the 400 migrant workers did after the migrant worker was killed.