(Trans)National Service: Reconfiguring Citizenship through Conscription in Singapore

Since 1967, National Service has been the bedrock of Singapore's defence policy and a central element in its nation-building project. Unlike most countries which implement mandatory military service, Singapore's practice of male conscription applies not only to citizens but also to a select group of non-citizens (second-generation permanent residents), creating a unique context where the traditional associations between national allegiance and military service can be reexamined. This study first traces conventional understandings of citizenship and conscription and how they have been shaped by recent global developments. I then identify three discursive frames—'relational', 'transactional', and 'aspirational'—that non-citizens adopt towards National Service, and examine how their experience reconfigures the relationship between citizenship and conscription. Finally, I discuss the agency of the state, and of the wider Singapore public, in a wider renegotiation of citizenship, and possible implications for policymaking and future research.