‘Nested Newness’ and the Quality of Self-Government: The Case of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Abstract

This chapter employs an analytical framework based on Mackay's concept of `nested newness' and, drawn from feminist institutional theories, to assess the quality of self-government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The framework is used to examine the emergence and outcomes to date of the post-1997 quasi-federal autonomy arrangement for Hong Kong, where many residents claim a distinctive collective identity and values vis-à-vis the wider People's Republic of China. The chapter argues that the Hong Kong autonomy arrangement underscores the need for analyses of multinational accommodation that go beyond political institutions and policies and state architectures, to also assess how these are shaped by their nestedness in contexts, histories, and relations.