| Abstract: | It is possible to demonstrate, using Singapore as a key example, the way in which the attribution of a set of ‘Asian values’ represented a Western project which is best labelled ‘reverse Orientalism’. This process entailed the attribution of a set of cultural values to East and Southeast Asian societies by Western social scientists in order to contrast the recent dynamic progress of Asian development with the stagnation and social disorganisation of contemporary Western economies and societies. The contrast provided legitimation for some of the nation‐building policies of political leaders in such countries as Singapore and was incorporated in attempts to identify and institutionalise core values. |
