Introduction

In June 1997, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong called for the promotion of civil society for Singapore. The call came in a major speech in Parliament, newly constituted after the triumph of the People's Action Party (PAP) in the 2 January 1997 general election under Goh's leadership as party secretary-general. The election had seen the PAP sweep all but two seats, reverse its decline in the popular vote and, perhaps most significantly, retake two seats from the opposition. The reassertive and triumphant PAP may have been expected to read the results as a vindication of its concept of good, strong government. Indeed, in a post-election statement, Goh asserted the election evinced a rejection of “liberal democracy” as seen in the West. The victory might then have provided a mandate for the continuation of the PAP's existing style, with a minimum of democratic consultation and participation. Why then the call for civil society? And what exactly is it?

At its core, civil society refers to the layer of institutions and arrangements that lie between the state and the individual. It refers, more specifically, to the voluntary associations citizens form in society that are not political (such as political parties), economic (companies and business associations), or assumed to be natural (such as the family). Civil society includes the associations, societies, and clubs that citizens organize for themselves to further their common cause or interests. This in itself would not seem significant. But civil society has come to imply more than just citizens forming voluntary associations. It has come to signify political change. In the experience of Eastern Europe leading up to the late 1980s, civil society played a major role in creating indigenous movements that supplemented, opposed, and in some cases replaced the then incumbent socialist states. At the international level too, civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have come to play increasingly important roles, especially in areas of transnational concern, such as the environment and human rights. In this context, what does Prime Minister Goh's call for civil society in Singapore signify? What are the implications for politics and for society in the nation-state?