How do colonial legacies still shape social categories today — and what does Singapore's model mean for the future? Junjia Ye explains.

In this episode, Steven Vertovec and Georg Diez examine how colonial pasts continue to structure present-day social categories, with a focus on Singapore. Junjia Ye (Nanyang Technological University) discusses the CMIO model of racial management, the enforcement of temporary migration, cosmopolitanism, and how skill regimes are creating new forms of social difference.

Key themes include cultural diversity examples from Singapore, diversity representation beyond the West, creating belonging in multiracial societies, and the implications of enforced transience for migrant workers' rights.

Futures of Difference is a research-based video podcast by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity that explores how social categories are being challenged, contested, and transformed.

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