Total Defence is Singapore’s whole-of-society approach to safeguarding the nation. This guide explores what it is, its pillars, why it matters, and everyone’s role. This is a general overview.
What is Total Defence?
Total Defence is Singapore’s comprehensive, whole-of-society approach to national defence and resilience, based on the understanding that safeguarding the nation is not the responsibility of the armed forces alone but of every part of society. It recognises that a nation’s security and resilience depend on many dimensions beyond the military, encompassing various aspects of national and social strength, and that everyone has a role to play in defending and strengthening the nation. Total Defence reflects the reality that a small nation must be resilient across multiple fronts, and it fosters a shared sense of responsibility for the nation’s security and wellbeing. Understanding what Total Defence is, Singapore’s whole-of-society approach recognising that safeguarding the nation is everyone’s responsibility across many dimensions, helps you appreciate its comprehensive nature, so you can recognise Total Defence as more than military defence, a holistic approach to national resilience in which every part of society and every individual has a role in strengthening and safeguarding the nation across multiple fronts.
The pillars of Total Defence
| Dimension | Broadly |
|---|---|
| Military | The armed forces and defence |
| Civil and social | Society’s resilience and cohesion |
| Economic | Economic strength and resilience |
| Psychological and digital | Resolve, unity and digital resilience |
Total Defence is built on multiple dimensions or pillars, reflecting the many fronts on which a nation’s resilience rests. These encompass the military dimension, the armed forces and the defence of the nation; civil and social dimensions, the resilience, cohesion and functioning of society; the economic dimension, economic strength and resilience; and psychological and digital dimensions, the resolve, unity, confidence and, in the modern era, digital resilience of the nation and its people. Together, these pillars recognise that national resilience requires strength across military, social, economic, psychological and other fronts, not just the military alone. This comprehensive framework guides how the nation approaches its defence and resilience. Understanding the pillars of Total Defence, spanning military, civil and social, economic, and psychological and digital dimensions, helps you appreciate its comprehensive scope, so you can recognise that safeguarding the nation, in the Total Defence view, requires resilience and strength across many fronts, with each dimension contributing to the overall security, resilience and wellbeing of the nation in a holistic, whole-of-society way.
Why it matters for a small nation
Total Defence matters especially for a small nation like Singapore, whose security and survival cannot be taken for granted and depend on resilience across many fronts. Given its size, vulnerabilities and dependence on stability, Singapore must be strong and resilient not only militarily but socially, economically, psychologically and in other dimensions, so that it can withstand and respond to various challenges and threats. Total Defence recognises that no single dimension is sufficient and that whole-of-society resilience is essential. It also fosters the unity, resolve and shared responsibility that strengthen a small nation. In these ways, Total Defence is a sensible and important approach for safeguarding a vulnerable small state. Understanding why Total Defence matters for a small nation, because security and resilience across many fronts are essential and cannot be taken for granted, helps you appreciate its importance, so you can recognise Total Defence as a sensible, vital approach for a small, vulnerable nation like Singapore, fostering the comprehensive resilience, unity and shared responsibility needed to safeguard the nation across military, social, economic and other dimensions in an uncertain world.
Everyone’s role
A key idea of Total Defence is that safeguarding the nation is everyone’s responsibility, not just the government’s or the armed forces’. Every individual and part of society can contribute to national resilience, through supporting national defence and security, contributing to social cohesion and harmony, strengthening the economy through their work and contributions, maintaining resolve, unity and confidence, being resilient in the face of challenges, and, increasingly, being responsible and resilient in the digital sphere. Even everyday actions, such as fostering harmony, being prepared, and contributing positively to society, are part of Total Defence. This shared responsibility fosters a united, resilient nation. Understanding that everyone has a role in Total Defence, contributing to the nation’s resilience across many dimensions through their actions and attitudes, helps you appreciate your own part, so you can recognise that safeguarding the nation is a shared responsibility in which every individual contributes, through supporting defence, fostering cohesion, strengthening the economy, maintaining resolve, and being resilient, making Total Defence a genuinely whole-of-society effort in which everyone plays a part.
A shared commitment
Total Defence ultimately reflects a shared commitment to safeguarding and strengthening the nation, uniting the whole of society in the common cause of national resilience and security. It fosters a sense of shared responsibility, unity and resolve, recognising that the nation’s security and wellbeing depend on everyone. This shared commitment is itself a source of strength for a small nation, binding society together in a common purpose and fostering the cohesion and resilience that Total Defence seeks. By understanding and embracing Total Defence, individuals contribute to this shared commitment and to the nation’s overall resilience. It is a unifying, purposeful approach to safeguarding the nation. Understanding Total Defence as a shared commitment, uniting society in the common cause of the nation’s resilience and security, helps you appreciate its unifying purpose, so you can recognise Total Defence not just as a framework but as a shared national commitment in which everyone participates, fostering the unity, resolve and whole-of-society resilience that strengthen and safeguard Singapore, a source of strength rooted in the shared responsibility of all.
The takeaway
Total Defence is Singapore’s comprehensive, whole-of-society approach to national defence and resilience, based on the understanding that safeguarding the nation is everyone’s responsibility across many dimensions, not the armed forces’ alone. Built on multiple pillars, military, civil and social, economic, and psychological and digital, it recognises that national resilience requires strength across many fronts. This approach matters especially for a small, vulnerable nation whose security depends on comprehensive resilience and cannot be taken for granted. A key idea is that everyone has a role, contributing to the nation’s resilience through their actions and attitudes, making Total Defence a genuinely shared, whole-of-society commitment. By uniting society in the common cause of safeguarding the nation, Total Defence fosters the unity, resolve and resilience that strengthen Singapore. This is a general overview.
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