Reimagining Singapore as a creative nation: The politics of place branding

Singapore has embarked on an ambitious programme to become a significant player in the global creative economy. The country has been rebranded as a creative city. The government agrees that in a creative economy, the environment must be conducive for experimentation and innovation. As a result, more social and political spaces have been opened up to spur Singapore's fledging creative economy as well as to signal that the nation has become more transparent and tolerant. The authorities, however, still limit the freedom of public expression on political, ethnic and religious issues. Singapore remains a soft-authoritarian state. Can such a country then be branded as a place conducive for creativity and innovation? This paper proposes a more nuanced appreciation of Singapore's emergence as a creative city. It shows how the Singaporean government introduces, communicates and implements its vision of a creative economy while at the same time maintaining tight social and political control. A deeper understanding of the complex relationships between democracy, freedom of expression and a country's creative environment is needed.