Singapore’s and Thailand’s Institutional Foundations

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Table of Contents

Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index
Rule of Law Index
GPD per Capita
Perceptions of Electoral Integrity Index
Human Development Index
Influence on National Security
Analysis
Challenges of Comparing Singapore and Thailand
References

Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index

This Index demonstrates how well the institution of property rights is developed. Singapore’s position means that this country is attractive to foreign investors because they are confident in this market. This fact makes Singapore more powerful, both domestically and internationally, since the country achieves more resources. At the same time, Thailand is not even present in the Index’s Top 25. It denotes that the formal institution of property rights is not significantly developed in the given state. It is so because foreign investors do not like to deal with hybrid regimes because they have features of both democratic and authoritarian countries.

Rule of Law Index

According to the World Justice Project (2020), the Rule of Law Index shows how effectively governments can address corruption, reduce poverty, and protect their citizens from injustice. That is why this indicator is useful to describe the formal institution of the legal system. When it comes to the countries under analysis, they perform differently regarding this index. Singapore’s 12^th place and Thailand’s 71^st place show that the latter nation suffers from poverty, corruption, and injustice more severely. Consequently, one can say that Singapore has a more developed institution of the legal system, which inevitably leads to higher legitimacy of the Singaporean government.

GPD per Capita

GDP per capita is a significant economic indicator when it comes to comparing different states since it demonstrates a state’s financial performance and citizens’ well-being. Gaguly and Thompson (2017, 73) state that GDP per capita is connected to state capacity, meaning that the higher indicator leads to better state capacity. According to The World Bank (2019), Singapore’s GDP per capita is significantly higher than Thailand’s. That is why it is possible to suppose that Singapore’s state capacity is better compared to Thailand’s. The reasoning behind this idea is that wealthy states are traditionally considered more powerful and influential because of their resources.

Perceptions of Electoral Integrity Index

The Perceptions of Electoral Integrity Index is a significant indicator to see how well the institution of electoral rules is developed in the states under analysis. This indicator demonstrates whether media coverage, party registration, voter registration, campaign finances, vote count procedures, and electoral laws are fair and equal for all. It is worth mentioning that Singapore and Thailand have similar results regarding this Index. According to the Electoral Integrity Project (n.d.), Thailand has 51 points, while Singapore has 53 points. This information demonstrates that the given states provide their citizens with similar institutions of electoral rules irrespective of different political systems that are found in the countries.

Human Development Index

The Human Development Index is a useful criterion to assess the reasonable development level of a nation according to specific indicators. It is so because this measure focuses on people, including their life expectancy, education, employment opportunities, income levels, and others, rather than on isolated economic data. The Human Development Reports (2019) website offers an analysis of world countries. Singapore’s 9^th place demonstrates that this country provides its citizens with more suitable living conditions and development abilities in comparison with Thailand that occupies the 77^th place. This Index shows that the democratic government succeeds in making ordinary citizens’ lives better and more beneficial.

Influence on National Security

There is no doubt that more powerful states have better national security. Typically, its level depends on how much a country spends on its military sector. This indicator shows that Singapore has better national security because, in 2019, it spent $11,211 million on its military sphere compared to $7,315 million that was spent by Thailand (SIPRI 2019, 18). In addition to that, it is possible to mention that legal institutions have some impact on national security. It refers to the fact that states with more developed legal systems, including Singapore, have enhanced national security levels.

Analysis

Looking at the data from the two states, one can mention that democracy is a better and more beneficial political system for people. The data from Singapore demonstrate that the democratic government leads to an improved legal system, increases state capacity. As a result, the country is acknowledged at the international level. Simultaneously, Thailand has shown more mediocre results, referring to increased corruption rates, lower economic indicators, and others. However, one should mention that these different indicators are in conformity with similar electoral rules in the nations. It demonstrates that both Singapore and Thailand have a shared domestic challenge.

Challenges of Comparing Singapore and Thailand

The present comparison is relative since the two countries imply different conditions. Thus, it is challenging to achieve fair results when input data are not equal. For example, it is not reasonable to conclude that democracy inevitably results in a wealthier population because economic performance depends on many factors, including geographic location, neighboring states, available natural resources, and others. That is why it is not fair to conclude that Thailand is a worse state. The formal institution of electoral rules has emphasized that the two countries can have the same limitations. Thus, the given analysis only demonstrates that democratic Singapore has managed to address the existing challenges and opportunities better compared to Thailand with its hybrid regime.

References

Electoral Integrity Project. n.d. “Perceptions of Electoral Integrity Index.” Web.

Ganguly, Sumit, and William R. Thompson. 2017. Ascending India and Its State Capacity: Extraction, Violence, and Legitimacy. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.

Human Development Reports. 2019. “Global Human Development Indicators.” Web.

Kearney. 2020. “The 2020 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index.” Web.

SIPRI. 2019. “Data for All Countries from 1988-2019 in constant (2018) UDS.” Web.

The World Bank. 2019. “GDP per Capita (Current $US).” Web.

World Justice Project. 2020. “WJP Rule of Law Index.” Web.

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