Migration status and attitude towards authoritarian rule: The case of Singapore's naturalized citizens

Hoi Yu NG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

Abstract

Immigration has become a controversial issue in Singapore, an enduring Southeast Asian electoral autocracy. One of the controversies concerns how immigrants would influence Singapore's domestic politics. Drawing on two surveys, this study examines immigrants' views on authoritarian rule, both their attitudes towards Singapore's incumbent regime and their perceptions of democracy and authoritarianism. The results present a mixed picture. On the one hand, immigrants who were naturalized tend to favour the incumbent more than the native-born. They tend to have better evaluations of state institutions and government performance than the native-born. Partial evidence also exists that naturalized citizens are more likely to vote for the incumbent than the native-born. On the other hand, the author found no strong evidence that naturalized citizens are less supportive of democracy or more pro-authoritarian than the native-born. Political and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)97-118
JournalPhilippine Political Science Journal
Volume39
Issue number2
Early online dateOct 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Citation

Ng, H.-Y. (2018). Migration status and attitude towards authoritarian rule: The case of Singapore's naturalized citizens. Philippine Political Science Journal, 39(2), 97-118. doi: 10.1080/01154451.2018.1523837

Keywords

  • Electoral authoritarianism
  • Democracy
  • Immigrant
  • Incumbent support
  • Singapore

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