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postgraduate thesis: Politics of assimilative autonomy : comparative analysis of central-peripheral relations in Hong Kong and Macao under Chinese sovereignty

TitlePolitics of assimilative autonomy : comparative analysis of central-peripheral relations in Hong Kong and Macao under Chinese sovereignty
Authors
Advisors
Issue Date2019
PublisherThe University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong)
Citation
Kwong, Y. H. [鄺英豪]. (2019). Politics of assimilative autonomy : comparative analysis of central-peripheral relations in Hong Kong and Macao under Chinese sovereignty. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR.
AbstractAutonomous regions theoretically have different ethnic, historical, cultural, linguistic and even religious backgrounds with the nation-state but are offered separate constitutional arrangements for self-governance within a single nation. Quantitative research has evidenced that this kind of region often possesses both stronger incentives and capacity to pursue secession than regions which were never autonomous. Thus, the nation-state adopts diversified methods, ranging from accommodative, which concentrates on “power-sharing,” to assimilative, which emphasizes “integration,” to respond to the potential risk of secessionism. In recent years, academic discussions have paid special attention to the arena of “assimilative autonomous region.” By definition, it refers to a territory autonomy holding a certain degree of self-governance but the nation-state still dominates or controls local affairs through direct or indirect methods. In response, the populations in autonomous regions adopt different approaches, ranging from rejection to acceptance, when they face assimilation from the nation-state. This thesis attempts to address the research question why autonomous regions have developed into diversified trajectories with similar practice on assimilation from the nation-state. The argument is that the initial foundations of sub-national consciousness before the sub-national state formation affect the ultimate outcomes of nationalism. When the population in autonomous regions has a strong commitment to sub-national identity but a strong sense of distrust of the nation-state, this region has more potential to develop into peripheral nationalism against the assimilative state-building nationalism. But, when a population has a weak sense of sub-national identity and political distrust of the nation-state, it is more likely to accept assimilative state-building nationalism. This thesis explores the politics of assimilative autonomy in Hong Kong and Macao under Chinese sovereignty. The establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Macao SAR changed their nature from being colonies of Western countries to SARs of China in the late 1990s. However, the two SARs have continuously experienced diversified trajectories in central-peripheral relations, from being comparatively confrontational in Hong Kong to harmonious in Macao. The case of Hong Kong indicates that a strong sense of Hong Kong identity and distrust of the Chinese government before the establishment of the SAR continued to develop a sense of peripheral nationalism against assimilation in recent decades. In contrast, the case of Macao shows that a strong sense of Chinese identity and political trust in the Chinese government continued to accept state-building nationalism even when facing similar assimilative policies. By examining the causal relationship between foundations of sub-national consciousness and ultimate outcomes of nationalism, this thesis attempts to broaden the theoretical understanding of different reactions of autonomous regions towards assimilative strategies. Empirically, this thesis suggests that the actual practice of “One Country Two Systems” points to a need to extend the scope of study. The field of democratization should not be limited to Hong Kong and Macao but also extend to autonomists in economic, cultural and ideological arenas. Given the assimilative policies from China, Hong Kong and Macao politics should be recalibrated for an understanding of “assimilative autonomist.”
DegreeDoctor of Philosophy
Dept/ProgramPolitics and Public Administration
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/278413

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.advisorWong, YHM-
dc.contributor.advisorSteinhoff, UB-
dc.contributor.authorKwong, Ying Ho-
dc.contributor.author鄺英豪-
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-09T01:17:37Z-
dc.date.available2019-10-09T01:17:37Z-
dc.date.issued2019-
dc.identifier.citationKwong, Y. H. [鄺英豪]. (2019). Politics of assimilative autonomy : comparative analysis of central-peripheral relations in Hong Kong and Macao under Chinese sovereignty. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR.-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/278413-
dc.description.abstractAutonomous regions theoretically have different ethnic, historical, cultural, linguistic and even religious backgrounds with the nation-state but are offered separate constitutional arrangements for self-governance within a single nation. Quantitative research has evidenced that this kind of region often possesses both stronger incentives and capacity to pursue secession than regions which were never autonomous. Thus, the nation-state adopts diversified methods, ranging from accommodative, which concentrates on “power-sharing,” to assimilative, which emphasizes “integration,” to respond to the potential risk of secessionism. In recent years, academic discussions have paid special attention to the arena of “assimilative autonomous region.” By definition, it refers to a territory autonomy holding a certain degree of self-governance but the nation-state still dominates or controls local affairs through direct or indirect methods. In response, the populations in autonomous regions adopt different approaches, ranging from rejection to acceptance, when they face assimilation from the nation-state. This thesis attempts to address the research question why autonomous regions have developed into diversified trajectories with similar practice on assimilation from the nation-state. The argument is that the initial foundations of sub-national consciousness before the sub-national state formation affect the ultimate outcomes of nationalism. When the population in autonomous regions has a strong commitment to sub-national identity but a strong sense of distrust of the nation-state, this region has more potential to develop into peripheral nationalism against the assimilative state-building nationalism. But, when a population has a weak sense of sub-national identity and political distrust of the nation-state, it is more likely to accept assimilative state-building nationalism. This thesis explores the politics of assimilative autonomy in Hong Kong and Macao under Chinese sovereignty. The establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Macao SAR changed their nature from being colonies of Western countries to SARs of China in the late 1990s. However, the two SARs have continuously experienced diversified trajectories in central-peripheral relations, from being comparatively confrontational in Hong Kong to harmonious in Macao. The case of Hong Kong indicates that a strong sense of Hong Kong identity and distrust of the Chinese government before the establishment of the SAR continued to develop a sense of peripheral nationalism against assimilation in recent decades. In contrast, the case of Macao shows that a strong sense of Chinese identity and political trust in the Chinese government continued to accept state-building nationalism even when facing similar assimilative policies. By examining the causal relationship between foundations of sub-national consciousness and ultimate outcomes of nationalism, this thesis attempts to broaden the theoretical understanding of different reactions of autonomous regions towards assimilative strategies. Empirically, this thesis suggests that the actual practice of “One Country Two Systems” points to a need to extend the scope of study. The field of democratization should not be limited to Hong Kong and Macao but also extend to autonomists in economic, cultural and ideological arenas. Given the assimilative policies from China, Hong Kong and Macao politics should be recalibrated for an understanding of “assimilative autonomist.” -
dc.languageeng-
dc.publisherThe University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong)-
dc.relation.ispartofHKU Theses Online (HKUTO)-
dc.rightsThe author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works.-
dc.rightsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.-
dc.titlePolitics of assimilative autonomy : comparative analysis of central-peripheral relations in Hong Kong and Macao under Chinese sovereignty-
dc.typePG_Thesis-
dc.description.thesisnameDoctor of Philosophy-
dc.description.thesislevelDoctoral-
dc.description.thesisdisciplinePolitics and Public Administration-
dc.description.naturepublished_or_final_version-
dc.identifier.doi10.5353/th_991044146578303414-
dc.date.hkucongregation2019-
dc.identifier.mmsid991044146578303414-

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