PurposeThis research is concerned with youth activism in Singapore historically and the importance of legitimacy for understanding the further development of youth activism and Singapore’s democratization process. It takes into account issues pertaining to good governance, economic performance and democratic participation (legitimacy). The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts a historical approach, qualitative in nature with some quantitative analysis based on documentary research, press reports and content analysis.FindingsHistorically youth activism was vibrant and dynamic in the fight for independence and against inequality and injustice during the colonial era in Singapore. Under Lee Kuan Yew’s rule, the scope and boundary of democratic participation (legitimacy) were delimited and controlled by the state. State-contained or controlled participation has replaced contentious politics. In the Singapore General Election in 2011, the younger generation of Singapore electorate, who are better educated and well-travelled, however, proved themselves to be rational and pragmatic when they exercised their rights to reject polices detrimental to their socio-economic well-beings as well as to the inclusiveness of society. The People’s Action Party (PAP) had the lowest vote share (60 per cent) in history. Since then the PAP government had stepped up its efforts in improving welfare gains of the citizens as well as managing public discontents with more effective policies. The PAP victory in the Singapore election (GE 2015), however, showed that among other reasons, welfare gains and good governance helped in salvaging the electoral legitimacy vis-à-vis the political legitimacy of the PAP government. However, the PAP government’s continual harsh treatment of critics, young and old, means that to achieve democratic legitimacy, it has to break through the shackles of authoritarian leadership style and elite governance, which have led to the regime’s failure to face up to the reality of an emerging civic participatory culture in the Singapore contexts.Originality/valueLegitimacy is an important concept. To date there is no systematic application of this concept to the study of Singapore electoral politics. This paper employs Bruce Gilley’s determinants of legitimacy – democratic legitimacy, welfare gains and good governance – to explicate the basis of the PAP’s regime legitimacy, the contradictions inherent in state-contained participation and political representation that delimited and undermined the nature, scope and boundary of democratic legitimacy.

中文翻译：

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新加坡的青年行动主义、国家参与和民主合法性

目的本研究关注新加坡历史上的青年激进主义，以及合法性对于理解青年激进主义的进一步发展和新加坡民主化进程的重要性。它考虑了与善政、经济绩效和民主参与（合法性）有关的问题。本文旨在讨论这个问题。设计/方法/方法研究采用历史方法，本质上是定性的，并基于文献研究、新闻报道和内容分析进行一些定量分析。发现历史上，青年激进主义在争取独立和反对新加坡殖民时代的不平等和不公正。在李光耀的统治下，民主参与的范围和边界（合法性）由国家划定和控制。国家包含或控制的参与已经取代了有争议的政治。在 2011 年的新加坡大选中，受过良好教育和游历的新加坡年轻一代选民在行使权利拒绝损害其社会经济福祉的政策时证明了自己是理性和务实的。以及社会的包容性。人民行动党（PAP）的得票率是历史上最低的（60%）。从那时起，人民行动党政府加大力度提高公民的福利收益，并通过更有效的政策来管理公众的不满情绪。然而，行动党在新加坡大选（GE 2015）中的胜利，表明除其他原因外，福利收益和良好治理有助于挽救选举合法性与行动党政府的政治合法性。然而，行动党政府对批评者、老少批评者的不断严厉对待，意味着要实现民主合法性，就必须突破专制领导风格和精英治理的桎梏，导致政权未能正视现实。新加坡背景下新兴的公民参与文化。原创性/价值合法性是一个重要的概念。迄今为止，还没有将这一概念系统地应用于新加坡选举政治的研究。本文采用 Bruce Gilley 的合法性决定因素——民主合法性、福利收益和善治——来阐明人民行动党政权合法性的基础，