Pro-social policy for a healthy society

Maturity: Tested elsewhere, new for Maldives

Scale: Medium but meaningful

CIVIC-SCOPE Analysis
Context	Interests
Erosion of social trust and public etiquette (littering, noise, lack of courtesy). Rapid modernization has outpaced the evolution of civic norms. Concern about loss of identity and "Maldivian values."	Public: Frustrated by bad behaviour but skeptical of "preachy" state. Youth: alienated, seeking purpose. Govt: Wants social order and national pride. Religious/Community Leaders: Want to define moral values.
Vision	Incentives
A society where courtesy, care for public space, and community duty are the norm. State policy actively cultivated positive values through design, education, and "national mythmaking" without coercion.	Citizens: Incentivized to behave well if it's the "easy default" (design) and socially rewarded. Leaders: Incentivized to model values to build legitimacy. Youth: Incentivized to engage if they feel ownership and respect.
Challenges
Structural: Difficulty integrating value-based education into a crowded, exam-focused school day without it becoming a "throwaway" subject. Capacity: The state lacks the behavioural science expertise to design "nudge" interventions, risking campaigns that feel like clumsy propaganda. Operational: Coordinating consistent enforcement of "minor" rules (littering, noise) across police and councils without turning it into harassment. Political: The "hypocrisy trap" – campaigns fail instantly if leaders are seen violating the norms they preach; high risk of cynicism. Economic: Justifying sustained budget for "soft" cultural programs when "hard" infrastructure needs are pressing.
Challenge Score (1-5) Budget: 2-3 | Logistics: 2-3 | Legislative: 2-3 | Political Capital: 3 | Execution: 3 | Time: 3-4 | Stakeholders: 3-4 | Risk: 3

The Maldives has experienced rapid economic development, urbanisation, and population growth over recent decades. Like other small island developing states (SIDS), it faces challenges in meeting the needs of larger, more complex communities under land constraints and high population density. Decades of focus on economic and material development – the kind that can show concrete and quantifiable results – have come at the cost of policies that tend to community life and the holistic development of individuals. Compared to a developmental success story like Singapore, Maldivian policy has neglected the role of the state in shaping society and cultural norms. Policy on the intellectual, social, mental, emotional, moral, spiritual, artistic, and literary enrichment of communities and individuals has not kept pace with policy on economic conditions.

There are many elements to a full policy suite toward this catching up of intellectual, cultural, and social development to keep pace with economic development. Many aspects of concrete economic and material development do play a role – availability of quality and affordable housing, more investment in teachers and schools, and more suitable job opportunities for youth are all material development that also drive cultural and social development. But even if cultural and social development can be capped by the level of material development, a lack of policies to directly target intellectual, cultural, and social development and the cultivation of a healthier society by encouraging positive trends and defusing toxic patterns, is leaving much on the table. We could compare this to how an individual might not be able to reach peak fitness without exercise, but even if they do exercise but also have a poor diet and a chain-smoking habit, they'll see those improvements more slowly, have a lower ceiling on how healthy they can get, and develop unseen health issues that can destroy their health later down the line.

Policies to directly establish, inculcate, and promote positive social values and discourage negative ones might no longer be as in fashion as policies that try to develop conditions upstream to create an environment where these values can grow. Policymakers might worry that it might be too obvious or heavy-handed, or that the electorate might not be receptive to it and might find it preachy or condescending. There is often a tendency within policy circles to focus entirely on making changes upstream to try encourage specific choices by changing the 'environment' around them and shaping incentives, opportunities, or paths of least resistance – whether it's changing the 'business environment' to encourage innovation, changing the 'regulatory environment' to unleash investment, changing the 'urban environment' or 'built environment' to encourage things like business districts or lower vehicle use, and so on.

As a comparison, we can see that modern policy ideas in the economic sector now pair an evolved version of old-school direct industrial policy alongside policies to develop the business, regulatory, investment, and legal environments. These upstream policies aren't just left to be after initiation but are actively managed with the policymaking body overseeing and directing resources, inputs, processes, and outputs while carrying out public campaigns, marketing, facilitating, and other support activities to bring in the participants they want, whether it's through outreach programs for youth, setting up internship programs to channel students into skill gap areas, or directly contacting and meeting foreign investors with proposals.

As for the direct public campaigns to shift social norms, the impact of behavioural campaigns to encourage positive habits and discourage behaviour with negative externalities on society was once a widely accepted, with massive success particularly in driving behavioural changes and shifting social norms for public health advancements. Much like old-school industrial policy, they fell out of fashion in recent decades in much of the world while they remained as key government policy in the likes of Singapore and China. Pro-social policy as seen in much of East and South East Asia may seem more subjective than those behavioural campaigns on public health issues, but from a Maslow's hierarchy of needs point of view, well-being in a more economically developed society has shifted. Rather than cholera from not boiling water or infant malnutrition from a lack of breastfeeding, people in society experience isolation, atomization, a loss of community, financial anxieties, status insecurity, disillusionment, the pressure of constant competition and keeping up appearances, a lack of contact with nature, loneliness, persistent stress, environmental degradation, and more.

Governments in East and Southeast Asia have actively promoted specific values and etiquette as cornerstones of national identity. Across Singapore, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea these values play out differently, but in each case they are tied to nation-building, drawn from the country's own history and religion, and used to shape both everyday behaviour and how the country is seen from outside.

Any attempt by the state to shape social norms has to stay within clear boundaries. It must respect basic rights, avoid coercion and leave space for pluralism and disagreement. The aim is to support habits and expectations that make everyday life fairer, kinder and more workable for everyone – not to enforce any single way of living. That implies a few guardrails. Campaigns should not criminalise private beliefs or turn differences of opinion into questions of loyalty. Tools such as fines and bans should be reserved for concrete harms, not for trying to police thought. The main tools of pro-social policy are positive: the way we design public spaces, the stories we tell in schools and media, the examples set by public figures and the repeated, consistent enforcement of a small number of rules that everyone understands.

Promoted values and their societal manifestations

In East and Southeast Asia, the state has worked to build values such as humility, community duty and respect into daily life, where they surface as everyday etiquette: keeping order in public, treating others with courtesy, taking care of shared space. Not littering, keeping public places clean, giving up a seat to an older person – these are read as signs of moral character and national identity rather than matters of personal taste.

After independence, states put real effort into defining national identity through prescribed behaviours and values. Singapore and Malaysia built 'Asian values' into education and public policy to shape a common national character, and presented this as necessary for social order and political stability. What each country promoted came out of its own history, culture and religion. In Indonesia and Malaysia, Islamic teaching shapes the national ethos and its emphasis on modesty and mutual support; in China and Japan, Confucian ideas of filial piety and social harmony do similar work in public behaviour and state policy.

These values are often framed as something unique to the national character, which shades into national exceptionalism. Citizens are expected to uphold them as a matter of personal integrity and as representatives of the country whenever they are seen abroad; failing to do so is treated as a national embarrassment. A recurring line in these countries is that everyday behaviour either lives up to a great historical inheritance or marks a decline in moral standards, and governments use it to criticise anti-social behaviour and call for a return to 'authentic' national values. Duty, protection of the vulnerable and honour are singled out as the core of this, with national heroes and historical figures held up as examples – celebrated both for defending the country and for the standards of conduct they are said to embody.

Governments use several tools to reinforce these values: public awareness campaigns, changes to the school curriculum, and public shaming when someone breaks a rule of etiquette. The aim is to push the values past individual behaviour until they feel like second nature. All of this sits inside nation-building, which ties how a person behaves to what the country is supposed to stand for, and the values are kept alive through repetition in state policy and public debate.

Values as national identity

In Japan and Singapore, community duty and respect for others run through much of the public messaging. Orderly queuing and punctuality in Japan, for instance, are taught as expressions of respect and social harmony, reinforced through both schooling and public policy, and treated as part of what holds society together.

In Singapore, government campaigns for public cleanliness and decorum, such as the Clean and Green campaign, reach beyond the environment into moral and civic conduct, and they are enforced through both law and public education. While people might point to traditional cultural norms having a focus on authority, etiquette, and honour in a country like Japan, the societies resulting from public awareness campaigns do not actually reflect a direct cultural line from the past. Singapore, for example, was a small fishing village, and much of Singaporean identity and values were built effectively from scratch during the Lee Kuan Yew era. Much of China had enormous cultural upheaval during the Mao years including massive relocations between urban and rural populations and the Cultural Revolution, which meant that the cultural links to the past were significantly broken, and modern Chinese etiquette and cultural policy explicitly brought back a fusion of Confucian and communist ideals, with Confucian values and behaviour being promoted within China as a policy decision by the government.

In Malaysia, public etiquette and cleanliness are tied to religion and culture, with Islamic teaching shaping policy on modesty and communal respect, as part of a wider effort to hold cultural identity and national pride together.

Examples of humane social norms

Public cleanliness in Singapore shows how everyday etiquette gets written into law to stand for national values. Littering and spitting carry heavy fines, and cleanliness is treated as a moral and civic virtue rather than a matter of preference. Over time this has settled into how people see themselves, and into a shared sense of responsibility and pride.

In China, respect and social order are pushed through both Confucian teaching and modern civic education. They show up in daily life, from deference to elders to how people conduct themselves in public. The government promotes them through school curricula and state media, aiming for a society that fits both the Confucian ideal of harmony and Communist communitarianism.

In Japan, close attention to recycling rules and public cleanliness has come to stand for how people see themselves, and citizens treat these habits as part of their identity and their reputation abroad. When Japanese fans stay behind to clean stadiums after international football matches, it reads as an expression of exactly that.

The values each government promotes come out of its own history and culture. In Thailand and China, where Buddhist and Confucian ideas carry weight, harmony, respect for hierarchy and filial piety run through both policy and daily behaviour, reinforced by state ceremony and schooling. In Indonesia and Malaysia, Islamic principles of mutual aid, neighbourliness, kindness, hospitality to guests and protection of the vulnerable are kept up through consistent messaging across government.

In Maldivian conditions this will often be very practical. It can mean long, patient campaigns on littering and waste, backed by well-designed bins and collection systems. It can mean normalising queuing, courtesy on ferries and buses, and a presumption that public spaces are for everyone, not only for those with connections. It can mean making it easier for people to volunteer, mentor younger people or contribute to local projects. These are small shifts, but over time they can change what feels normal and what feels unacceptable.

Intentionality in national mythmaking

National mythmaking is the deliberate construction of the stories, symbols and historical accounts a nation uses to understand itself. It is most active during and after independence movements, when it helps hold a new nation together and give it a sense of purpose^[10]. "Myth" here does not mean fiction. It means simplified, emotionally charged stories about where a country came from and where it is going, built out of real historical events, cultural traditions, heroic figures and shared experience and shaped into a tidy, idealised version of national identity.

These myths do several jobs. They legitimise a new state by giving it a history that justifies its existence and sovereignty. By honouring the struggles of past leaders and freedom fighters, they give the nation a sense of continuity and a reason for citizens to invest in its development and defence. They also pull diverse populations together around a common heritage, language and set of values, which matters most in multi-ethnic societies where division is a live risk.

They also build pride and patriotism, and a sense of belonging that can outweigh narrower loyalties. None of this is neutral. Myth-making works by choosing which events to remember, passing over the uncomfortable parts, and sometimes inventing stories outright to serve a political end. The same myths that help build a nation can entrench bias, write people out, and harden stereotypes, which is why they are worth reading critically rather than taking at face value.

Historically, versions of national legends such as the Muhammad Thakurufaanu story, although drawn from historical sources, have been somewhat streamlined and formalized into an "official" version as national legend. The goal of these were drawing from similar movements across in countries in similar historical situations as European colonialism withdrew after World War 2 and new states were formalized, and they have a clear purpose: creating a shared sense of national identity where citizens of the nation-state would have a common narrative conception of their own history and what led them here and what tied them together, one that would inspire them to feel patriotism toward the country rather than allegiance to other sub-units (for example, to Male' for Male' residents or to their islands or leaders – from historical sources, we see that in the early 20th century there was a clear difference in how Male' residents viewed themselves compared to the remaining islands and how intentional national policies to change those mindsets were heavily prioritized in the Ameen Didi presidency).

National heroes tend to become cultural icons whose stories are lifted out of their original context and folded into the national story. Schools and public media use them to teach loyalty, bravery and self-sacrifice as the traits a citizen should have. The pull of these legends comes from something that does not date: the emotions the hero felt are the same ones any later generation can recognise. Retelling the legends as dry history breaks that connection, because the further Maldivian daily life moves from the world of the story, the more remote the hero feels. Told well – in films, skits, animation and other formats built to be high quality and easy to reach, and aimed at the human core of the story rather than the historical detail – national heroes can work as figures people actually want to live up to. That this has largely not happened, across successive governments, is a real gap in cultural education and policy.

In the face of globalization, many countries worry that the dominance of Western pop culture – English displacing native languages, Western dress replacing traditional dress – will dilute their own identity and values. These concerns are pronounced in countries like Malaysia and Thailand, where there is a strong push to preserve cultural heritage and promote traditional values through state policies and media. Governments actively combat perceived cultural erosion by reinforcing traditional customs and values through education, public campaigns, and legislative measures. In Indonesia, for instance, the promotion of Batik day, where citizens are encouraged to wear traditional attire, serves as a response to Western clothing trends, reinforcing a sense of national identity and cultural pride.

Shared cultural touchstones and pop culture in public schooling

In the modern era, it has become almost impossible to have any monocultural touchstones shared by Maldivians, since most people, especially young people, consume all their core stories and tropes and fundamental ideas about the world through globalized and international pop culture. Even in the present time, with discourse around revitalizing Maldivian identity, there are questions of clarity and intentionality in what such a policy would entail. An approach where people feel lectured or judged may even pushing people away, if not carefully designed to create a sense of identifying with Maldivian-ness or a sense of solidarity with other Maldivians. Making it about ethnicity or land or birth is insufficient, because feeling superiority about being from a country or having some citizenship is different from love for a country and solidarity with a nation you are part of. A collective focus with full clarity and intent to defining and establishing a clear national identity that resonates with people and that comes with a value system so that there is such a thing as "what it means to be Maldivian" – as long as the question of what makes you truly Maldivian, what it means to "be" Maldivian, is vague or just about circumstance of birth or something vaguely defined, it's not going to last because it's not anchored in anything solid. An anchor laid in soft sand isn't keeping anything from drifting away.

As a thought experiment as you read this: what would people say is Maldivian identity? What would people say are universal Maldivian values? - Environmentalism? Love of the sea? Is there anything clear that isn't either just circumstance of birth/ethnicity/history? - In art about the Maldives, is there reflection of what it's like to be a modern Maldivian? Turtles, libaas, lacquerwork, coconuts, beaches, those are symbols but if all we have is symbols, what's missing? What do people feel solidarity with other Maldivians as a collective about- since most of us aren't wearing libaas or swimming with turtles in our daily lives - what makes us feel connection with others we don't know? What binds us to every other Maldivian, if we have to put words to it?

Even just fifteen years ago, every Maldivian would have certain common cultural touchstones. For example, everyone knew the characters from Muhammad-Rasoolullah the TV show, since everyone watched the show every Ramadan. Now, most people choose what to watch from streaming media, and popular cultural touchstones which only air at a certain time are far more inaccessible than any materials on popular streaming channels like Netflix or YouTube. Identifying potential sites for creating monocultural touchstones and providing these common stories, characters, quotable lines and moments, memorable scenes and emotional storylines, and so on in a place where most Maldivians will be exposed to them is necessary to create touchstones shared by Maldivians.

In a world where there is no longer "mass media" that is collectively consumed by everyone and most people consume their own algorithmically curated choices across their own preferred streaming services based on globalized recommendations, the only remaining site to create monocultural touchstones in pop culture is probably the compulsory public school system. This means that the public school system now has a cultural weight that it has never before had, and that perpetuating cultural touchstones and commonly experienced pop culture – movies, shows, plays, etc... with beloved characters, quotable lines and line deliveries, touching and memorable scenes, emotional and tragic moments, iconic jokes, and so on – is now left up to the public school system, since almost no other consistent space remains for people to consume long-form content – no other options that everyone can be exposed to are any longer than 1 minute looped on a public transport screen or government service waiting room TV, 10 seconds on an outdoor billboard or office poster, etc.

Healthy conceptions of masculinity and preventing male radicalization

Disillusionment of young men leading to increasingly anti-social behaviour and radical political views is a problem identified across the world, with these young men often being drawn to nihilistic ideologies that blame women and society. This is also encouraged by social and material issues that prevent men from executing what they view as their masculine role as provider, for example through housing being unaffordable for most. Ignoring the need to channel young men's disillusionment or insecurities about the opportunity to exercise their masculinity can lead to societal ills we increasingly see in other countries, so there is a need to proactively define and promote a healthier version of masculinity before globalized nihilistic strands take root. For example, this can emphasize that masculinity requires masculine values such as duty, protection, and honour. These traits are celebrated in national heroes or figures who have contributed to the country – not just heroes, but brave and honourable and hardworking everyman such as builders, writers, administrators and community leaders from the past - portrayed as embodying these traits.

Masculine virtues here extend beyond individual conduct to social behaviour. What many men currently perceive as masculine or manly often includes reckless or antisocial actions that may look "macho" but neglect the social responsibility of men. Reckless public behaviour like speeding can be framed not just as a traffic violation but as a departure from the masculine expectation of responsibility and duty toward safeguarding the vulnerable. The expectation stems from a broader cultural understanding that men are entrusted with the role of protection and should not act in ways that endanger others, particularly children and the elderly. These values resonate with the teachings of the prophets, who emphasised compassion, humility, and protection of the vulnerable.

Similarly, behaviours like sexual harassment, workplace gender discrimination, or general disrespect towards women are condemned not only for their legal and ethical implications but also for their dishonourable nature. Drawing from historical and religious precedents, which emphasize the duty of men to stand up for and protect women, such actions are seen as a betrayal of masculine virtues and an act of bullying that undermines the fabric of societal honour and respect, reflecting the traditional place of honour that women had in Maldivian culture before men lost their sense of honour and chivalry.

The masculine virtues and values of heroes and honoured figures would also have a more prominent role to model the values inherent to a national identity. Beyond outward displays of strength and protection, the embodiment of masculine identity is deeply intertwined with notions of humility, integrity, and self-restraint. Rather than ostentatious displays of status or wealth, healthy and mature masculinity is emphasized as being reflected in modesty and a reluctance to boast or flaunt one's achievements. Rather than treating women dishonourably or neglecting and abandoning their children, the ideal for men is perceived as having the maturity and responsibility to do right by their families. This principle extends to acts of piety or benevolence, where the true measure of virtue lies not in public proclamation but in quiet, sincere deeds. The masculine ideal here rests on integrity – not outward shows of strength, but moral steadiness and humility in both action and bearing. This is actually in line with the traditional Maldivian understanding of the role of men (for example, even from our youth we might remember our grandparents telling us that men should be serious and proactively bear responsibility in any social setting). An emphasis on humility and integrity serves as a counterbalance to ego and vanity, reinforcing that honour is found not in public recognition or status games but in the quiet fulfilment of duty and responsibility towards others, particularly those in vulnerable positions. This reflects the teachings of Islamic prophets and the values deeply rooted in Maldivian culture and tradition.

Summary of similar programs by Asian countries

• Singapore: Campaigns like the National Kindness Program and National Courtesy Campaign encourage polite behaviour, reflecting the country's values and identity^[11].
• China: Promotes social harmony and traditional Confucian values, including respect and propriety, through educational policies and public etiquette campaigns.
• Japan: Implements educational reforms emphasizing manners and service spirit, cultivating a society aligned with Japanese cultural norms^[12].
• Thailand: Engages in educational reforms to instil civic consciousness and good manners, emphasizing respect as a core component of Thai identity.
• Malaysia: Launches campaigns to improve public behaviour, focusing on cleanliness, punctuality, and respect, aligning these traits with national identity.
• Indonesia: Incorporates civic education into the school curriculum to teach social etiquette and good manners, aiding rural migrants' integration into urban societies; focusing on developing citizens who embody the Pancasila principles.
• Vietnam: Raises awareness among rural populations about public health, hygiene, and etiquette to enhance urban interactions.
• Philippines: Promotes "Bayanihan," emphasizing communal unity and cooperation through education and public service campaigns that include etiquette and community values.
• South Korea: Utilizes education and public campaigns to foster national pride and etiquette, particularly respectful behaviour in public spaces and towards elders.
• Hong Kong: Engages in public campaigns emphasizing "social face" and respect to maintain and enhance the city's reputation for refined manners.

Key roundtable discussion points

1. East and Southeast Asian governments promote certain values or character traits and behaviour like etiquette and respect as part of national identity. In countries like Singapore starting with Lee Kuan Yew, China, Malaysia and Indonesia, South Korea, and others, pro-social values and etiquette are deeply ingrained as part of national identity
2. Values that shape identity can include things like duty toward the community, social contract, protection of the vulnerable, considering personal and societal cost vs benefit of a choice, honour and dishonour, masculinity as about honour in protecting the vulnerable, restraint, humility/grace, charitable interpretations of others, appreciation and gratitude, a desire to not shame our ancestors, and so on.
3. How these values can manifest in forms of etiquette like being orderly in queues or lines, waiting your turn, not littering, not spitting on the street, supporting public cleanliness, avoiding conspicuous consumption and displays of wealth, avoiding speeding or reckless driving, respecting the dignity of the dead, family duty, honouring secrets, avoiding gossip and speculation wherever possible, consideration for people in difficult circumstances such as the poor or mentally ill, defending and protecting the vulnerable in society such as women and children, not bullying, not abusing power in the workplace, treating employees with respect, polite/respectful treatment of migrants, respecting the elderly, giving up seats on public transport to pregnant or elderly, refusal to participate in dishonourable actions, commitment and work ethic in your job, etc.
4. How these values and etiquette are ingrained into society through actions of the state and nation-building, especially in the decades after independence and decolonization. As nation-building, countries framed certain values and behaviour and etiquette as reflecting national identity. Examples can be found in Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, etc.
5. How these promote a conception of national identity as coming with a certain set of values, etiquette, behaviour, and norms, with these values and behaviours being identified and drawn from or in relation to the country's history, culture, traditions, and religion.
6. Taking note where relevant of countries where this kind of promotion of values and norms reference Islamic ideals of behaviour, but also looking at where other religious or spiritual traditions and ideals (whether Christianity, Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, etc) apply.
7. Where and how this conception of values as part of national identity is framed as national exceptionalism, with citizens of this nation being seen as seeking to be exemplars of these moral behaviour and etiquette and social norms, so that those who don't follow these principles are seen as negative reflections on the country.
8. Where history and the behaviour of the nation's people in the past as having had these etiquette and values as core traditional values is promoted, and current lack of etiquette and social norms is framed as either social deterioration, a failure of the nation to maintain the greatness of its past, or as corruption of the nation's values in how its citizens behave by external foreign influences.
9. How the framing of this perceived degradation of moral character through values like respect for elders and women, protecting the vulnerable, humility, good manners, orderliness in public, duty toward the community, honour and honesty, etc... is paralleled as a diluting of national identity similar to examples of cultural dilution like young people not learning their native languages and using English instead, western dress instead of traditional, etc.
10. Where states present this national identity with certain values and behaviour and etiquette as the true culture of the country, with current lack of etiquette and moral social norms being seen as corrupting influences that promote individualistic views and selfishness over traditional ideas of duty toward the community and respect toward others
11. When and where national pride was invoked to promote these values and etiquette or behaviour, and where not following these values was framed as shameful or dishonourable. With patriotism invoked to argue that the country's residents should display moral values and etiquette on the world stage as how it's seen by outsiders, in ways from the impression that interactions with locals would have to tourists, to examples like how the cleanliness of public spaces in Singapore impresses visitors, how the orderliness of Japanese public transport or Japanese fans cleaning stadiums after World Cup games contributes to the positive image of said countries to the world, etc.
12. Even specifically looking at examples related to perceived masculine values within this culture, with masculine values and virtues being seen as things like principles of duty toward the community, responsibility for the weak and vulnerable, honour, and other values, with a lack of these values being framed as men having abandoned the nature of being a man in the past during a time of greater national identity, and how national heroes of the past are held up as exemplifying these principles of masculine virtue. National heroes and iconic figures are often meant to not inspire just patriotism toward defending the country's greatness but also to serve as exemplars for what the model citizen would be like
13. How these are applied in practice by governments as social engineering, from public awareness campaigns on good policy, to encouraging public shaming of etiquette violations, to framing certain behaviour as unattractive or unmasculine (similar to how the promotion of smoking as repulsive to women and unattractive contributed to the reduction of rates of smoking in men), to how much it gets emphasized in public education