Consumption, Cities and States

Comparing Singapore with Asian and Western Cities

By (author) Ann Brooks, Lionel Wee

Publication date:

15 May 2014

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781783082261

‘Consumption, Cities and States’ examines the fascinating intersection of consumption, citizenship and the state in a cross-section of global cities in Asia and the West. It focuses on a number of theoretical and empirical analyses: developing and amplifying the intersection of consumption, citizenship and the state in late modernity in relation to a range of cities; examining the concept of the global city as an ‘aspirational’ category for cities in Asia and the West; and considering case studies which highlight the intersection of consumption and the state. As Ann Brooks and Lionel Wee demonstrate, the interface between citizen status and consumer activity proves a crucial point of analysis in the light of the neoliberal assertion that individuals and institutions perform at their best within a free market economy.

Acknowledgements; Introduction; Chapter 1: Consumption, Reflexivity and Citizenship in Global Cities; Chapter 2: Orders of Reflexivity; Chapter 3: Rescaling for Competitiveness; Chapter 4: The Dynamics of State–Society Negotiations; Chapter 5: (De-)Regulating Asian Identities: Comparing Asian Cities and States; Chapter 6: Citizenship, Reflexivity and the State: Investigating ‘Defensive Engagement’ in a City-State; Chapter 7: Governing the Citizen-Consumer: Citizenship, Casinos and ‘Cathedrals of Consumption’; Chapter 8: Regulating Consumption and the ‘Pink Dollar’; Chapter 9: States as ‘Midwives’ to Cities: Cosmopolitanism, Citizenship and Consumption in the Modern State; References; Index

‘This is a theoretically sophisticated and always accessible transdisciplinary comparative analysis of Singapore’s successive strategies to become a world-class or global city. The book explores its capacities for institutional self-reflection and strategic learning and the sometimes banal, sometimes surprising tactics adopted to consolidate local loyalties and attract foreign talents and investment.’ —Bob Jessop, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Lancaster University