Occasional paper

Relatively little is known about the processes of nation-building in Southeast Asia, especially in the case of Singapore. Having moved rapidly form colonial status to statehood in the federal system of Malaysia and finally independence, all in a matter of a very few years, Singapore has had to develop on several fronts in order to survive and find its place in the state system of this region. Nation-building is thus a subject of considerable interest, but few thus far have paid much attention to the situation in Singapore.