Singapore is a unique country in that it's also only a city and happens to be one of the premiere centers of finance, trade, and so much more finding itself outperforming many other larger and even more powerful countries in many ways.

Obviously, this is in part due to its geographic location, but this can't explain the success of Singapore alone as places like Egypt and Panama also hold trading choke points without the same level of success.

In addition, Singapore must have the support of more powerful nations but often doesn't find itself mired in global international conflicts between the US, China, India, Russia, etc (at least not outwardly).

I'm curious as to what resources peal back some of these layers of its history, the power struggles, the agreements made around it, and how it continually keeps itself such a politically exceptional entity, especially in context to what the area was like before global trade. If there are any who have an expertise in all this and can share their own version here, it's much appreciated!