Immigrant Integration in Contemporary Singapore : Solutioning Amidst Challenges

Singapore's success as a global city is in no small part attributable to its stance on foreign labour and immigrants, illustrated by a largely welcoming but discerning immigration regime to fulfil vital socio-economic needs. However, this fairly liberal policy on immigration has been met with substantial disquiet over the last decade. Xenophobic tendencies have surfaced periodically and have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. This edited volume spotlights these contemporary issues on immigrant integration in Singapore, and adopts a functional approach by explicitly bridging academic and practitioner perspectives. The chapters are organised into three sections. The first section on Challenges discusses various dominant trends - obstacles to immigrant integration based on ethnicity, culture and religion, and the fear and associated emotions that characterise reactions to immigration. The second section focuses on Communities, their perspectives and lived experiences in Singapore society. The latter differ substantially depending on migrant statuses and are contingent on social capital defined in relation to locals in the city-state. The last section seeks to illustrate the various Solutioning endeavours in tandem with the contentious nature of immigration. These concrete efforts range from ground-up initiatives, community-based collaborative approaches and government programming; all seeking to advance immigrant integration in Singapore.

Author: Mathews Mathew, Melvin Tay

Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company Pte. Limited

Publication Date: Feb 27, 2023

Number of Pages: NA pages

Language: English

Binding: Hardcover

ISBN-10: 9811267529

ISBN-13: 9789811267529