Governance, Institutions, and Economic Performance: A Comparative Study of Singapore and South Sudan

The ongoing debate between democratic and non-democratic systems has gained significant attention in contemporary political discourse. With the end of the Cold War, the rise of authoritarian regimes has presented an alternative model to democratic governance. As the number of authoritarian states has increased, so too has the focus on the relationship between governance structures and economic development. The long-held thesis that Western states' development is rooted in democratic principles has been challenged by the economic successes of authoritarian regimes such as China and South Korea. Consequently, the social and economic trajectories of authoritarian states have garnered substantial interest, particularly among Western democracies. This study explores the economic development of authoritarian regimes by conducting a comparative analysis of Singapore’s one-party rule beginning in 1965 and South Sudan’s post-independence period after 2011, employing a most-similar case design to investigate their development pats.