Radicalisation, Exhaustion, and Networked Movement in Abeyance: Hong Kong University Students' Localist Identification after the Umbrella Movement.

Between the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and the unprecedented mass protests in 2019, Hong Kong experienced a period of movement abeyance during which localism became a prominent political identification, notably among young people. Localism, defined as a reactive form of radicalism, was one pathway after a cycle of contention, alongside persistence with moderate claims and exhaustion, an affective process of detachment from contentious politics after mobilisation. However, the existing literature seldom explores individual attributes to these pathways during movement abeyance. Using survey data gathered from five local universities (N = 1,365), this study seeks to examine how cognitive appraisal of previous protest events, political emotions, and media use during abeyance predict radical and moderate political identifications among university students in Hong Kong. Youths with stronger devotion to the Umbrella Movement and negative emotions after it were more likely to identify as localists. However, youths with these attributes who perceived negative consequences of the Umbrella Movement showed a lower likelihood of being localists or pan- democrats. These results can elucidate the trajectories for radicalisation and exhaustion during post-Umbrella Movement abeyance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]