Activism in Singapore: why are some activist movements more effective than others

Abstract

Singapore’s activism landscape is vibrant, with many different movements, each differing in their effectiveness. Hence, this paper will seek to explain why some movements are more effective by conducting a comparative study between Nature Society Singapore (NSS), Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), and Pink Dot. This paper posits that a movement’s effectiveness is a product of its political opportunities, agency, and discursive opportunities. While a movement’s political opportunities might be limited, this paper argues that movements still have the agency to adopt tactics that will maximise the limited opportunities available to them. These tactics can also help movements amass public support to convince the government to accept their ideas. To explicate these components, secondary research, online sentiment analysis, and a survey were conducted. Overall, findings from this comparative study will add to the literature of activism in Singapore and provide insights for activist movements to consider when pushing for their cause.