Open Society Contested: Liberal Universalism versus Autocratic Functionalism in Hong Kong

Over the past 25 years, the interplay of the interests of the ruling elites and the one-party regime’s pursuit of ideological monopoly has propelled Hong Kong’s integration with China’s system of governance on all fronts. In the past two years, the omnipresent interventions from Beijing in the name of national security have endangered not only the open society, but also Hong Kong’s capabilities to conduct its domestic affairs and external relations. This chapter puts forward a more nuanced approach to consider how norm contestation between Liberal Universalism and Autocratic Functionalism has attributed to the opportunities and threats with respect to the city’s pursuit of the open society. With the closing of civic spaces in the domestic political and policy domains, we submit that norm contestation along the global-local nexus has become a new focal point around which concerted actions for global solidarity may develop.