Conspiracy theorists are usually mocked, ridiculed and dismissed. However, instead of focusing on individuals, we need to interrogate the larger socio-political conditions that make people more susceptible to believing in seemingly outlandish theories.

The recent spate of high-profile scandals in Singapore has prompted observers to discuss the political fortunes of the PAP and the WP. Yet, these have overlooked the more fundamental question of what the incidents reveal about the nature of political legitimacy in Singapore.

While ‘resilience’ is an important quality for individuals and social systems to have, the frequency with which the state exploits it has become problematic.