National Identity has several definitions depending on the viewpoints of the issue in which we are trying to address. National Identity can be thought as a collective product (Kelman, Herbert (1997). Nationalism, Patriotism and National Identity: Social-Psychological Dimensions. Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers. pp. 171–173.) of which is a combination of all the different happenings dated back to a nation’s beginning. Or we could view national identity as a fixed badge, something we all have been given, derived from our ‘nationality’, (McCrone, D., & Bechhofer, f. (2015). Accessing national identity. In Understanding National Identity (pp. 22-42). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.) referring to territorial demarcation.
For this essay, we will be focusing mainly on national identity as a collective product – a result of our history since Sir Stamford Raffles stepped foot and gave the small fishing village a direction of being a central port, till today where our national leaders continue to align Singaporeans to a common goal of Singapore growing as a global trade hub.
Having a strong National Identity impact a nation’s progress and productivity, a nation’s progress, and productivity, in turn, would affect the quality of life of its people. Social science as a discipline studying and researching on the topic of National Identity is apt as the study would require the entire discipline to work together since national identity is an issue that involves the combination of various views from different disciplines such as Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology to name a few. Having the disciplines to come together with their discipline-based research and combining them would bring about more wholesome research findings of people and what National Identity means to them.
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Independence challenged Singapore as Singapore had to move from just being a location of a collaborative effort amongst different people from different ethnic groups and cultural backgrounds to transit quickly to become a modern-state where everyone had to come together and achieve goals of a nation as one.
Drawing back to our humble beginnings when Singapore was a trading port, Singapore has always been a location whereby different people from different locations came to, for a common purpose- in Singapore’s case, trading. Essentially as Singapore became independent the residents of the country were only here for a sole purpose – economical benefits.
Singapore is challenged as her residents then came from different countries, and consisted of a mix of multiple ethnic groups and identities, and the variety of different cultures and identities are usually factors to a national identity crisis. (Woods, Eric; Schertzer, Robert; Kaufmann, Eric (2011). ‘Ethno-national conflict and its management’. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics. 49 (2): 153–161.)
Singapore instead of growing and easing into independence had a unique set of problems due to its historical beginnings. Identity is constructed in accordance with the special condition of the time process and dependent on time and space. (Hüsamettin İnaç; Feyzullah Ünal (2013) “The Construction of National Identity in Modern Times: Theoretical Perspective”. Definition of Identity. 223-225). Singapore had to think about the progressiveness of the country which co-relates to its overall productivity of its people. Since Singapore had no natural resource and its greatest resource always, have been in its people. Singapore had to find ways to allow different cultural and ethnic groups to retain their identities but at the same time, find or rather create identities and promote inclusiveness and acceptance amongst them.
To glaze over the extensive topic on the importance of National Identity, National Identity is essential in times of natural disasters and national identity is important as it is a huge part of the driving factor of the overall nation’s progressiveness and productivity. To put into an example, national identity is similar to a company’s vision. Having a common vision as a company helps everyone to align their goals and to work towards the betterment of the company, and in return benefit through various channels such as bonuses and job security, promotions and in the long run better quality of life. In terms of that reflecting in a country, having a strong national identity would allow Singaporeans to form comradeship in times of national crisis tiding over hard times together as a country. Having a common goal as mentioned in Singapore’s national pledge ‘happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation’ and also encourages collaboration between its people, leading to.
National Identity needs to be studied as a Social Science discipline as it co-relates and crosses path with political science, sociology, and anthropology to name a few. The first perspective on National Identity, coming from a sociology viewpoint, shared identities predicated on a set of common goals, values or experiences can form an important base for social movements. On top of supporters of nationalist movements, feminists and environmentalists are also great examples of cases in which a shared identity is drawn on as a powerful source of meaning. (Giddens, Anthony., Duneier, Mitchell., Appelbaum, Richard P., Carr, Deborah. Giddens, Anthony. (Eds.) (2009) Introduction to sociology /New York: W. W. Norton & Co.).
One of Singapore’s most adherent traits is it’s multi-racial and religious acceptance. Such values are well planned by the Singapore government through education to ensure that if there were any jarring possibilities of any racial or religious divide, the problems are nipped at the bud. Furthermore, having national service, other than being part of national defence, it also creates a common ground where Singaporean men regardless of their race or religion have to serve. All the efforts that the government are putting into public education and enforcement such as compulsory national service are examples of them creating common values and experience for Singaporeans to share as a whole, simply put, to create a platform for common experiences and goals for Singaporeans, further driving shared identities which would in turn reinforcing a stronger national identity. Challenges that Singapore faces in the next 50 years would be globalisation.
