The title of Cherian George's latest book Freedom from the press: Journalism and state power in Singapore beautifully sums up the relationship between the press and state in Singapore. Since becoming an independent nation in 1965 the island/city state has developed a reputation for rapid modernisation/development coupled with authoritarian governance (of the ‘soft’ kind). As George's title suggests the state has been ‘free’ of the press at least in terms of it providing any sort of oversight function to the practice of governance. Through various legislative and other ‘control’ measures introduced during the 1970s and ‘80s (some dating back to the colonial era) the press in Singapore has largely been made compliant with government agendas. George's own background as a Straits Times journalist and his more recent undertakings as a scholar of media, politics and power give nuance and depth to this study as well as a high degree of credibility to its findings. His closeness to the subject (on a range of levels) is perhaps what helps to provide one of the key insights offered by this study. George's approach and analysis starts from the premise that the press is ‘enmeshed’ in a broader system of institutions, ‘shaped by historical, cultural and economic forces’ (p. 15), all of which have been ‘politically sterilised’, rather than as many commentators seem to perceive of it (wrongly according to the author) as an institution which alone could push Singapore to democracy (p. 25).

The print media is the main focus of this study because of the fact that in Singapore at least, unlike many other parts of the world, newspapers still have high circulation and continue to employ a large number of professional journalists. George also notes that, unlike the broadcast media, print media in the Republic did for a time enjoy a great degree of autonomy and thus became the target of government control. The study also examines the state's policies with regard to the Internet due to the challenges new media poses to the dominance of print media and state control. The author suggests though that the impacts of these new media should not be ‘overstated’ (p. 4).

The study offers numerous insights into how the Singapore state has achieved the cooperation of the press. Whilst the state has wide-ranging powers to deal forcefully with any uncontrolled press outbursts, Chapter 5 highlights what is termed ‘calibrated coercion’ as the main element of media control. This chapter provides a keenly insightful analysis of the way in which authoritarianism works in Singapore not just in the media but historically across all potential sites of challenge to the state authority. In practice this has meant an initial harsh crackdown on dissent followed by legislation to prevent future problems and then to rewarding those who cooperate. The key element being ultimately that the state has moved from the use of draconian powers to a system of self-censorship. By practising ‘self-restraint’ George argues that the state has been able to ‘build ideological consent’ (p. 96) for itself amongst the citizenry. George suggests that this is an important reason why authoritarianism is likely to be sustainable in Singapore. Ideology coupled with economic benefits for those who conform have been much more effective as tools of ‘cooptation and control’ (p. 25) than opponents of the PAP are often prepared to admit.

One of the most disturbing assertions of this study yet one that is hard to fault is that the press in Singapore is not in fact all that different in practice to the press in countries which pride themselves on having a free and open media environment. The study rightly highlights that whilst it is easy to point to press controls in Singapore as the state censuring or directing the media what is often overlooked (or simply ignored) is the extent to which neoliberalism and elite agendas in Western countries are often limiting what the press will and will not cover. George suggests that there is a convergence of sorts happening between those states which are seen as authoritarian and those where neoliberal ideology holds sway such as in the United States and Britain (I would add Australia). A convergence towards state control over society driven by fear about ‘threats to the power of the elite’ (p. 7). The argument that too much has been made of the link between economic liberalism as a precursor to the growth of liberal democracy is one that is hard to refute. George's argument that Singapore's elites (and elites in other states) have been able to develop the capitalist system by inhibiting democracy should be distressingly obvious to those who still cling to a simplistic modernisation hypothesis.

There is much greater depth to this study than can be summed up in a review such as this. The book's ten chapters explore many important themes relative to understanding how the press operates in Singapore. George does not simply regurgitate the usual themes about media in Singapore. Chapter 3, for example, examines the day to day operations of the press and the ‘conflicting influences’ from external and domestic forces that journalists work with but which also allow for ‘acts of independence and impertinence’ (p. 70). Such factors make one-dimensional caricatures depicting the press as a simple tool of government propaganda problematic. Chapter 6 provides an interesting overview of the history of a non-compliant journalism, particularly in the Chinese and Malay press of Singapore. As suggested earlier the study does not neglect an examination of the role being played by the Internet and new media. Chapters 8 and 9 cover in some detail the way in which new media has been impacting on aspects of public life and opening up space for dissenting voices to push the boundaries of what the state finds acceptable in public/political discourse. The final chapter of this study titled ‘Networked hegemony: Consolidating the political system’ offers little hope that there will be any liberalisation of press controls anytime soon. The state, the author suggests, has been quite adept at meeting new challenges and despite the advent of new media and what seems to be a more politically aware citizenry there is little chance (anytime soon at least) of ‘catastrophic collapse’ (p. 225).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It will be of particular interest to anyone interested in governance in Singapore and also the modern history of state–media relations in the island state. However, it is written in a lucid and eloquent style which should appeal to a wide audience of both lay and academic readers with a broader interest in issues around state and media relations.