Non-institutional political participation in Hong Kong: The role of relative deprivation, post- material values, and national identity

While socio-political movements that incur large-scale street protests, social unrest, and even violence have recently occurred globally, there are continual debates regarding the factors that motivate such non-institutional political participation. This study examines the effects of relative deprivation, post-material values, and national identity on non-institutional political participation among Hong Kong residents. Analysis of a representative survey (N = 919) in Hong Kong in 2017 shows that 34.5% of respondents have participated in protests, strikes, and online collective actions. Results from logistic regression models illustrate that perceived fairness is negatively associated with prior participation in non-institutional political movements, while perceived status is positively associated with non-institutional political participation, which show mixed support for the relative deprivation—participation hypothesis. As for post-material values, respondents reporting higher democratic values and lower perceived media independence are more likely to participate in non-institutional political movements. Respondents identified as Chinese and holding more positive attitude toward China are less likely to participate in non-institutional political activities. Moreover, national identity and attitude toward China condition the relationship between post-material values and participation. The relationship between democratic values and perceived media independence with non-institutional political participation are weaker among respondents identified as Chinese or with favorable attitude toward China. Policy implications are discussed.