Hong Kong’s Democratic Movement: A ‘Country’ in Turmoil

Since July 1, 1997, there has been a push for democracy within Hong Kong. As the years have progressed, this movement has become more urgent and in 2019, violence levels within Hong Kong peaked as protester turnout reached historic levels. Taking a qualitative approach, this paper identifies and analyzes the national, regional and global drivers of the Hong Kong-mainland China conflict. Through document review, content and discourse analysis, I determined several key factors that are driving and exacerbating the conflict. On a national level, these factors include the structure of Hong Kong’s national government and the rising housing inequality within the region. Regional drivers of conflict include the historic relationship between mainland China and the British Empire and the subsequent “One Country, Two Systems” Policy. Globally, it is imperative to consider the role of the United States and United Kingdom as foreign actors in the conflict as well as consider the ways in which Hong Kong reflects larger global trends such as increased youth activism and the struggles of periphery regions in conflict with larger, dominant nation-states. The findings of this study suggest that Hong Kong and mainland China are inextricably linked, thus making Hong Kong sovereignty an infeasible solution for the near future as significant changes to policy and infrastructure would need to be made beforehand. Failure to acknowledge these complexities when directing U.S. foreign policy in East Asia could lead to inapt solutions that only exacerbate tensions in the region. As such, I conclude this analysis with recommendations for the U.S. and the international community.