Electoral Politics in Post-1997 Hong Kong Protest, Patronage, and the Media [Hardcover]

This book offers a novel and parsimonious framework to help understand Hong Kongs lengthy democratic transition by analyzing the electoral dynamics of the citys competitive authoritarian political system, where pro-Beijing and pro-democracy parties have struggled to keep each other in check. The author demonstrates how a relatively liberal media environment has shaped the electoral incentives of the opposition and the pro-establishment elite differently, which has helped the latter improve its basis of electoral support. The political explanation the book puts forward seeks to shed new light on why many autocracies are interested in regularly holding elections that are considered somewhat competitive. This book will be of great interest not only to specialists in comparative studies of democratization, but also to all those concerned with Hong Kongs democratic transition.

Contents.- Abbreviations.- Acknowledgements.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- 1.1: Media Environment and Civil Society in Hong Kong.- 1.2: Elections in Hong Kong.- 1.3: The Puzzle.- 1.4: My Argument.- 1.5: Why Hong Kong?.- 1.6: The Methodology.- 1.7: Plan of the Book.- Chapter 2: Protest and Patronage: A Theory of Electoral Contest in Competitive Authoritarianism.- 2.1: About the Stakeholders.- 2.2: The Analytical Model.- 2.2.1: Baseline Model: Single Source of Protests.- 2.2.2: Multiple Sources of Protests.- 2.3: Conclusion.- 2.4: Appendix: Proofs.- Chapter 3: Birds in a Cage: Political Institutions and Civil Society in Hong Kong.- 3.1: Historical Background.- 3.2: Major Institutional Arrangements under the Basic Law.- 3.2.1: Relationship between the Central Government and the HKSAR.- 3.2.2: Judiciary.- 3.2.3: Civil Liberties.- 3.2.4: Chief Executive.- 3.2.5: Legislature.- 3.2.6: Interpretation and Amendment of the Basic Law.- 3.3: Last Years of the Colonial Administration.- 3.4: After 1997.- 3.5: July 1, 2003.- 3.6: Conclusion.- Chapter 4: Power to the People: Changing Electoral Stls.