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Pour (tear) gas on fire? Violent confrontations and anti-government backlash

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2022

Tak-Huen Chau Open the ORCID record for Tak-Huen Chau [Opens in a new window]  and
Kin-Man Wan Open the ORCID record for Kin-Man Wan [Opens in a new window]
Tak-Huen Chau
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
Kin-Man Wan*
Affiliation:
Department of Public and International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
*
*Corresponding author. Email: kinmanwan3@cityu.edu.hk
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Abstract

How do voters in a developed economy react to political violence at the ballot box? Most of the current literature suggests that a social movement turning violent dampens its support. To this end, we examine the effect of violent clashes and indiscriminate state repression on Hong Kong's 2019 municipal election. Using original geocoded data, we proxy violence and repression by the frequency of police shooting tear gas rounds at protesters. Despite the movement turning in part violent, the presence of indiscriminate state repression reduces regime support. We offer evidence that repression de-mobilized pro-regime voters. We discuss possible explanations behind our findings and how the specificity of political violence may matter in shaping public support in protest movements.

Keywords

ConflictHong Kongpolicingpolitical resistancepolitical violence
Type
Research Note
Information
Political Science Research and Methods , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , January 2024 , pp. 184 - 194
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Political Science Association

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