Unlike many authoritarian systems, the Republic of Singapore holds regular elections; Western media circulates widely; the Internet has deep penetration; and even Lee Kuan Yew – Singapore's paramount leader, who served as prime minister for more than 30 years – insists that adherence to the rule of law and a scrupulous, efficient, consistent judicial system are and have been essential to Singapore's spectacular growth and development. An island without adequate fresh water to serve its population, Singapore has risen to be a robust international commercial center that consistently outranks rivals ranging from Hong Kong and Japan to its own former colonial master, Great Britain, and, even in some years, the United States itself on measures of international competitiveness, economic vitality, and its efficient, effective, and reliable judicial system. And yet, unlike so many other authoritarian systems, Singapore has avoided the pitfalls of judicialization that arise in so many other states considered in this volume. Singapore seems to offer glimmering, shimmering proof that a government can construct a rule-of-law system sufficient to satisfy the demands of a global economy and maintain domestic support in regular elections for more than forty years without being forced to tolerate the tradeoff of uncontrolled, independent judicial power, or significant political opposition.