Battle for Hearts and Minds: New Media and Elections in Singapore
Tan Tarn How, Arun Mahizhnan, & Ang Peng Hwa (eds.)
Singapore: World Scientific, 2015
ISBN: 9789814730006 / 9789814713610

This book examines the nexus between old and new media use, political traits, political participation and voting behaviour in the Singapore 2011 elections. It analyses the impact of media and the role of different players (parties and candidates, opinion makers, ordinary voters, youths); the consequences to the voter (their political knowledge, their perception of what issues are important, the manner in which they reconcile conflicting information, the perception of candidates and parties; and their voting behaviour); and the role of technology (social media, mobile telephony).

This book is the outcome of a project led by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), which brought together a dozen researchers from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and foreign universities.

The book is a landmark study: Besides offering the first comprehensive survey of media's impact in a Singapore election, it also lays the groundwork for understanding the next election due in 2016 as well as serving as a valuable record of the state of affairs on the ground in the rapidly shifting dynamics of a Singapore political landscape that is undergoing a dramatic and unprecedented transformation.