Liberalism Disavowed is an important book. It's the best discussion of the history and significance of Singapore's distinctive political economy. Beng Huat Chua's argument is theoretically rich, well supported with ample sources, and benefits from an insider's perspective. He persuasively argues that the People's Action Party has maintained, even reinforced, its left social democratic orientation over the past fifty years, in contrast to the mainstream view that it has abandoned its socialist roots in its quest for capitalist success in a globalized world.
Daniel A. Bell, Shandong University and Tsinghua University, author of The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy The book is easy to read, full of statistical facts (except income distribution data), and suitable for undergraduate, graduate, and professional audiences.
Choice
Liberalism Disavowed is... an excellent one-volume treatment of Singapore society, and scholars interested in Asia, political economy, and alternative governance ideologies can approach the text with confidence.
Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
The contribution of Chua's Liberalism Disavowed is very large in that it shows how the hegemony of the PAP is working and resisting liberalism, especially in the everyday world of Singaporeans. It re-interprets the origin of public support for the PAP by focusing on its embedded social democratic origin.
inter-asia cultural studies
This well-written and insightful volume is the culmination of Chua Beng Huat's academic work on state and society in Singapore and brings together many of his path-breaking arguments that have significantly shaped our understanding of the country.
contemporary southeast asia
An informative and nuanced publication on this question of liberalism's place in contemporary Singapore. The publication serves as a useful text on both the city-state's peculiar politics and the nature of liberalism itself as it is actualised-or rejected-in the modern world.
Mekong Review
This penetrating account of the Singapore model by a senior Singaporean sociologist explains both why the model works and why it is not transferable to other countries.... Contrary to conventional wisdom, he argues that neither repression nor a cultural preference for authoritarianism explains the regime's success; rather, the state's successful policies - rooted in social democratic ideology and meritocratic leadership - and the island nation's strategic vulnerability explain why the population has accepted an elitist, repressive system for over 50 years and why it will probably continue to do so.
Foreign Affairs