Conclusion: The Paradox of Autocratization

This edited volume seeks to be the first attempt to bring together scholars and experts in Hong Kong politics to take up the challenge to explore the implications of the National Security Law on the political development of Hong Kong, whose residents have witnessed first-hand many of challenging episodes of the current debates on autocratization and the decline of liberal political systems in the wider context of the world. Based on the key findings and accounts of the preceding chapters, the concluding chapter’s objective is twofold: to shed light on the reach of the national security regime and its limits, thereby delineating the contours of the paradox of autocratization, and to call for more nuanced models and explanations to decipher Hong Kong which is still considered to be “partly free” and, by extension, partly unfree.