Singapore thrived on globalization. Now what?

Singapore is obsessed with order. From steep finds for littering to harsh punishments for vandalism, cleanliness and discipline are treated as civic duties, not personal choices. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down how that impulse for control reflects a deeper national instinct—one that over the last century has helped Singapore turn itself from a poor island outpost into a global success story shaped by geography, trade, and relentless pragmatism.

But today, Singapore is facing a new kind of challenge: navigating a messy, chaotic global order it can’t control. Singapore flourished because of its openness to trade and foreign investment. Singapore prospered by staying neutral and indispensable. But as economic nationalism surges and the US-China rivalry intensifies, that strategy is under threat. In a world forcing countries to choose sides, survival for the city-state depends on resisting that pressure. Can a small, trade dependent island continue to thrive in a world with globalization in retreat?