Singapore’s temporal sovereignty: How SG60 reveals the future of statecraft

POLITICAL science has long understood sovereignty as control over territory, people and resources. But Singapore’s SG60 initiatives reveal something unprecedented in statecraft: temporal sovereignty – the systematic capacity to govern across multiple time horizons simultaneously. The SG60 package demonstrates governance operating on 60-year strategic cycles while executing immediate interventions, representing not just effective policy, but the evolution of governance itself.

SG60: Long-term thinking in action

A closer look at the package reveals Singapore’s temporal sovereignty in action. The S$1 billion hawker centre investment operates on 20 to 30-year horizons, anticipating generational cultural preservation needs while creating immediate jobs and long-term tourism assets. The S$600 million in charity matching funds creates sustainable philanthropic ecosystems that will strengthen Singapore’s social fabric for decades. The SG Culture Pass and ActiveSG credits build long-term consumption habits while providing immediate revenue to their respective industries. 

This approach is driven by institutions such as Singapore’s Centre for Strategic Futures (CSF). The CSF’s methodology goes beyond traditional forecasting to address sudden disruptions and long-term trends simultaneously. Recent research in the European Journal of Futures Research by economics professor Ceyhun Elgin highlights Singapore’s institutional design as exemplifying how governments can build genuine long-term planning capabilities.