Vibrant Civil Society and Abortive Democratization in Hong Kong: A Paradox.

Hong Kong has long enjoyed a vibrant civil society, but Hong Kong has fallen short of developing full democracy after decolonization started 20 years ago. This paper discusses the evolution of civil society movements in Hong Kong and its relations with democratic development in Hong Kong. It discusses the ideology, mobilization structures, internal dynamics, and relations with political society and the state of the civil society organizations (CSOs). It shows that the vibrant civil society is under multiple constraints from the state and faces own problems of organization and mobilization, weakening its impact on democratization. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]