Explaining participation in social movements: Acase study of LULU activism in Hong Kong

Ting LIU, Yung YAU*, Ruoshi LI

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Book Chapters | Papers in Conference ProceedingsBook ChapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

In spite of their benefits to the society as a whole, locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) like incinerators, landfills, and power plants are not welcomed by local residents because of their negative external effects. While siting conflicts related to LULUs have attracted much academic attention, attempts to explain participation behavior of local residents against LULUs are limited. Building upon the collective interest model which has been widely employed to explain participation in environmental activism and political movements, this study develops an analytical framework for identifying the factors motivating residents to participate in social movements against a LULU in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong. The analysis results reveal that perceived group efficacy, perception of unfairness in the siting process, similarity of community members' views, living distance to the subject LULU, sense of victimization, and peer influence all entered into local residents' decisionmaking calculus of participation in collective actions against LULUs. These findings added to the body of knowledge regarding both the exercise of siting LULU and oppositions from the local communities. The findings also make some potential contributions to better conflict resolution and more informed policymaking under the rise of civil society in Hong Kong.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAdvances in Sociology Research
EditorsJared A. JAWORSKI
PublisherNova Science Publishers, Inc.
Chapter7
Pages149-168
Number of pages20
Volume21
ISBN (Electronic)9781536108101
ISBN (Print)9781536108026
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameAdvances in Sociology Research
PublisherNova Science Publishers, Inc.
Volume21

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

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