Language and culture in a multi-ethnic society: a Singapore strategy

Abstract

If it has not been easy in the post WWII period for political elites to govern an increasingly mobilised, articulate and diverse population amidst the complexity of swift and telescopic changes, it is doubtlessly, more challenging for those whose political mandates bestride deep cleavages in plural societies. The search for strategies and policies to create an integrated nation continues to elude political leaders in many new states, as they hesitate before what should be done, what can be done and what in the end they opt for. In these states, the promotion of consensus over a wide range of values is a long term objective which is tied up with the creation of a national identity and the sense of being a nation.