It has been suggested that although the most theorisation about globalisation has emerged from western contexts, the material implications of globalisation have been felt most strongly in non- Western regions. With this in mind, the authors undertake a situated analysis of how two states, Singapore and Hong Kong, are interacting with the broader processes of globalisation through their educational policies. Foucault's conceptual tool of governmentality is used to understand (i) the conduct of governing in the contemporary nation- state, and (ii) how the right rationalities are being inculcated by government to create desiring subjects who will play their part in ensuring national prosperity. The Asian economic crisis is used as a point of departure to show how global local tensions are being managed by Singapore and Hong Kong. The article concludes that both these global cities have adroitly managed the Asian economic crisis to steer their citizens away from pursuits of greater political freedom and towards concerns of material well being. They have done so through a selective interpretation of globalisation, by simultaneously resisting and embracing the contradictory strands of globalisation. Education has emerged as a critical space for this selective absorption of globalising trends. [Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0218879030230104 ]
