CIAO DATE: 04/05

Examining The Defence Industrialization - Economic Growth Relationship:The Case Of Singapore

Abstract

This paper examines the process and political economy of defence industrialization in Singapore. It frames the emergence and evolution of Singapore's defence industrial base in the broader context of both the development of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Singapore's defence and strategic policy since independence. The first half of the paper traces the trajectory of defence industrialization, examining and problematizing the linkages between defence spending and economic development.

This paper suggests while defence spending has acted as a stimulus for economic growth, especially in the Third World, Singapore's phenomenal post-1965 economic take-off seemed to occur independently of, even precede, any significant defence production, thus rendering highly problematic the direction and degreey of causality between defence spending and growth. The second half of the paper offers a theoretical framework, which is used to examine the motivations behind Singapore's defence industrialization, focusing particularly on defence production self-sufficiency, or autarky. It goes on to argue that there has been an evolution from mercantilist perspective in the 1960s towards a more liberal approach in the 1990s. Finally, this paper examines how Singapore's pre-eminent defence firm, Singapore Technologies (ST), has responded to recent developments in the global defence industry, and how these strategic movies can be read as evidence of a shift from its initial mercantilist posture and even as an abandonment of autarky.

Full text (PDF, 32 pages, 569.5 KB)