1. Cold War

The Cold War refers to the political, ideological and economic rivarlry that emerged after World War II betwen US and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies.

It is one of the reason for the causes of conflict. e.g. will be the Korea War bettwen North and South Korea. (Can be used for causes for conflict Textbook. pg 163)

2. The COD Wars

The Cod Wars, also called the Iceland Cod Wars were a series of confrontations in the 1970s between the United Kingdom and Iceland regarding fishing rights in the North Atlantic. The name of the conflict may be derived from a pun on the term "Cold War", possibly via the British tabloid press (Can be used for causes for conflict Textbook. pg 161)

3. Peacekeeping Force

Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace."[1] It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking.
Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Beret because of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, civilian police officers, and other civilian personnel.

4. Armed Conflict

War and armed conflict are often treated as synonymous terms. War can be describedas the extreme form of armed conflict and usually takes place between states. Armedconflict implies the pursuit of objectives through violence. The Red Cross definition ofarmed conflict is: “any difference between two states leading to the intervention of themembers of the armed forces is an armed conflict.”

5.1964 Racial Riots

The 1964 Race Riots were a series of riots that took place in Singapore during two separate periods in July and September between Chinese and Malay groups. The first incident occurred on 21 July during a Malay procession that marked Muhammad's birthday. In total, the violence killed 36 people and injured another 556. About 3,000 people were arrested. The riots are also known as the Prophet Muhammad Birthday Riots, 1964 Racial Riots, and 1964 Sino-Malay Riots. At that time, Singapore was a state in the Federation of Malaysia. (Can be used for Managing perceptions of different racial groups Textbook. pg 137)

6. The Maria Hertogh Riots

The Maria Hertogh riots or Natrah riots, which started on 11 December 1950 in Singapore, consisted of outraged Muslims who resented the court decision to give the custody of Maria Hertogh (or Bertha Hertogh), then 13, to her biological Dutch Catholic parents after she had been raised as a Muslim under the care of Aminah binte Mohamed, whom she regarded as her mother. The riots lasted till noon on 13 December, with 18 killed, 173 injured and many properties damaged – the worst incident of its kind ever witnessed in Singapore.[dubious – discuss]
Prior to the riots, the disputed custody of Maria had received widespread press coverage. Many Muslims living in Malaya and Indonesia believed in the legitimacy of the adoption of Maria and a later short-lived marriage to Mansoor Adabi, two major points of contest in the court proceeding to determine the custody of Maria. They thus lent their support, financial and moral, to organizations that fought to keep Maria in Malaya. But some, such as the Malayan nationalists, seized the incident as an opportunity to further weaken the colonial government's position in the region. The insensitivity of the colonial government towards Muslim sentiments and the involvement of radical elements eventually culminated in the tragedy. (Can be used for Managing perceptions of different religious groups Textbook. pg 139)

Very Important.

We need to get the following concepts clear.

Racial Harmony IS NOT the same as National Identity which IS NOT the same as Ethnic Diversity.

For example, in Sri Lanka there is ethnic diversity. It is so strong that the Sinhalese and Tamil could nt see eye to eye. So there is no racial harmony. When there is no racial harmony it will lead to conflict.

In Singapore, there is ethnic diversity. We do not force the Chinese to be Malay or India to be Chinese. Yet there is racial harmony because we accept each other. For example. during the seven month the Chinese burn alot of paper and joss stick but the other races accept this.They do not say it is air pollution. The Malaya prays five time a day and the mosque will call the Malays to pray but we do not say it is noise pollution. On Friday the school ends at 12.30 to allow the Malays to pray. So there is no need for us to fight like the Sinhalese and Tamil in Sri Lanka.

Social Harmony --- Different group living peacefully together.

To develop social harmony develop common space

to develop common space have

1.events and programmes organised by grassroots organisation (Textbk 149)
2.Opportunities offered by educational institution(TextBk 150)
3.Common living space provided by public housing.(TextBk 151)
4. Activities conducted by Inter-Racial Confidence Circles(IRCC) amd Harmony Circles(HCs)(TextBk 152)
5.Shared experience through National Services.(TextBk 153)

Once we have developed common space we can have racial harmony.

But having racial harmony does not mean that there will be ethnic diversity.

must safeguard the interests of the minority groups to have or promote ethnic diversity

1.minority representation(TextBk 147)


2.self-help group.(TextBk 148)


To build a National Identity


1. multi-racialism(Textbk 145)

2.common practices (146)

3.bilingualism (146)

Now to manage ethnic diversity we must have


1.Develop common space

2.safe guard the interest of the minority

3.to build national identity

e.g. Mrs Ess is a Chinese married to a Eurasian. She celebrate Chinese New Year and Christmas. She speaks Chinese and English. This is ethnic diversity. I am free to be a Chinese and marry a Eurasian

However I am a Singaporean first and I will help any Singapore. Mr Gana a Tamil is my good friend. He also see himself as a Singaporean. Together we will work for the progress of Singapore. This is national identity.

Social Cohesion is when all races are allowed to freely practice their religion and culture and other race accept these practices.The races are willing to work together.

In other words, I am a Chinese(ethnic diversity) working in a Singapore School (National Identity) teaching all the students -- Indian,Malay, Chinese Eurasian. (social cohesion)








Proud to be Singaporean with Chinese mother, Eurasian father, Indonesian grandfather, India grandmother.

Notice the different skin tone of Mrs Ess's children.Some are darker, some are lighter all equally important to her regardless of the skin colour