Upcoming Talks
Analysing Democratic Commitment in Hong Kong
Date: April 29, 2026
Time: 10 pm Hong Kong Time ; 9 am Central Time; 10 am Eastern Time; 7 am Pacific Time
Speaker: Waiman Lam, SOAS China Institute
Discussant: Sanho Chung, National Cheng Kung University
Registration Required
This paper analyses the patterns of democratic commitment in Hong Kong across waves 1 to 6 of the Asian Barometer Survey spanning the past two decades. Democratic commitment is conceptualised as a multi-dimensional attitude measured by both the positive endorsement of democracy—its perceived suitability, preferability, priority and efficacy—and the explicit rejection of authoritarian alternatives. Rather than providing an exhaustive explanation for the varying degrees of democratic commitment in Hong Kong, this paper offers a preliminary examination of key variables associated with these patterns, including socio-economic characteristics, place of birth, identity, political efficacy, interest in politics, satisfaction with government, and media consumption habits, based on the existing literature and our observations of the social, political and cultural trends that have evolved over several decades. The past two decades have witnessed profound political and social transformations in Hong Kong. The structure of political opportunities, the nature of public discourse, and the very meaning of democratic commitment have been in a constant state of flux. Throughout this period, Hong Kong’s political landscape has experienced both democratic and autocratic shifts. This paper presents a valuable opportunity to review public political attitudes in relation to these developments.
Speaker
Wai-Man Lam is Research Associate at SOAS China Institute and was formerly Associate Professor and Head of Social Sciences at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on comparative politics, state-society relations, identity politics, political behaviour, and the dynamics of democratisation and autocratization, with a particular emphasis on Hong Kong and Greater China.
Discussant
Sanho Chung is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. His research interests center on electoral clientelism, local government, and democracy and autocracy, with a regional focus on East Asia.
More to Come
To Be Announced.