Democratising Science? The Politics of Promoting Biomedicine in Singapore's Developmental State

Abstract

Drawing on Jasanoff's concept of coproduction [2004 States of Knowledge: The Co-production of Science and Social Order (Routledge, London) and Ong's notion of ‘graduated’ sovereignty [2000 Theory, Culture and Society17(4) 55–75], we analyse Singapore's promotion of the biomedical industry. To secure its place in the knowledge-based economy, Singapore's developmental state is determined to change the mind-set of its population and inculcate the individual creativity and entrepreneurialism needed for scientific innovation. It is also rolling out an internationally accepted framework of bioethics regulation. We explore the liberal values implicit in these two projects for promoting biomedicine and their implications both for the civic norms of Singapore's developmental state and for the wider relationships between science and liberal democracy.