Who Sets Social Policy in Metropolis?: Economic Positioning and Social Reform in Singapore.

Changes in social policy in Singapore do to some degree reflect changing sociopolitical realities and popular attitudes. Probably just as significant to these changes, though, is Singapore?s concerted effort to craft itself as a transnational hub, center for international business, and ready home-away-from-home for the skilled, moneyed cosmopolitans who drive the contemporary global political economy. Social policy, then, may drive societal attitudes as much as it follows them, with economic considerations trumping cultural and political ones in the eyes of policymakers. Shifts in the de jure and de facto treatment of gays and lesbians provide a stark demonstration of these dynamics. This paper explores first, the extent of official and unofficial discrimination against gays and lesbians in Singapore and the significance of recent policy changes. Second, I examine the roots of change: what induces the Singapore government to adopt a more tolerant attitude toward gays and lesbians, despite potential backlash and previous statements about the inappropriateness of ?Western? moral codes for comparatively socially conservative Singapore? Finally, the paper considers how far the transnational environment and forces of economic globalization are likely to go in diminishing states? sovereignty in setting social policy ? and how conversely empowering this diminution may be to marginalized groups, who may find their appeals to transnational discourses, networks, and less culturally-relative identities increasingly validated as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]