Jaclyn Neo - Böcker

This interdisciplinary collection, edited by leading scholars, provides the first book-length treatment of statelessness in the region in which most stateless persons reside. This book fills a critical gap in understanding statelessness in Asia, offering a unique interdisciplinary and comprehensive set of perspectives. This book brings case studies and expertise together to explore statelessness in Asia, itself a diverse region, and offers new insights as to what it means to be, de facto and de jure, stateless. In identifying key points of similarities and divergences across the region, as well as critical nodes for comparisons, this book aims to provide fresh frameworks for comparative research in this area.

Once a ceremonial position modelled after the constitutional monarchy in the United Kingdom, the office of the President of Singapore was transformed from an appointed to an elected one in 1991. As the head of state, but not the head of government, the elected President was to have additional discretionary powers involving the spending of financial reserves, appointment of high-ranking public servants, and certain ministerial powers to detain without trial. In 2016, a constitutional commission was convened to consider further reforms to the office and the elections process. This book explores Singapore’s presidency, assessing how well it has functioned, discussing the rationales for an elected presidency, and evaluating the constitutional commission’s recommendations for reforms, including the need for minority representation in the office. In doing so, the book provides important reflections on how the constitutional reform process raises crucial questions about the rule of law and the practice of constitutionalism in Singapore.