Examining Hong Kong’s Agency within Sino-American Relations

Abstract

<p>Sub-national entities are conventionally excluded from discussions of international geopolitics and relations on the grounds that they do not carry substantial weight in national decision-making processes. This article delves into the particular case study of Hong Kong in arguing that frameworks of international relations – specifically realism – must make theoretical room for the agency of non-state-level actors, including Special Administrative Regions.</p><p>In engaging with two levels of analysis – one concerning the trajectory of Sino-American relations and another concerning the evolution and unfolding of domestic events and transformations within Hong Kong, both since the 1990s – this chapter seeks to advance two propositions: firstly, Hong Kong’s agency in shaping the contours of Sino-American relations has precipitously declined as a result of both international and domestic factors; secondly, domestic events in Hong Kong have become increasingly ensnared in Sino-American great power rivalry and competition.</p><p>Through engaging in a carefully devised phase-based chronology, this chapter makes the case for taking seriously the strategic and international agency of cities that are highly integrated and pivotal to global trade and supply chains, amongst which Hong Kong counts as a prime exemplar. This study concludes that a Multipolar World Order 2.0 calls for taking seriously realist explanations of the connections between international and domestic politics and the limitations such realist constraints place upon economic interdependence as a mechanism for conflict resolution between countries.</p>