Centre for Comparative and Public Law's video: Opposing Power: Building Opposition Alliances in Electoral Autocracies - Elvin Ong

Opposing Power: Building Opposition Alliances in Electoral Autocracies (U OF MICHIGAN PRESS, 2022) with the author - Elvin Ong 6 SEP 2022 (TUE) 13:00-14:15 (HK TIME) Opposing Power argues that perceptions of regime vulnerability and mutual dependency by opposition elites shape the building of opposition alliances. When electoral autocracies are consistently dominant, opposition parties eschew fully fledged alliances. At best, they allocate only one candidate to contest against the incumbent in each subnational electoral district to avoid splitting the opposition vote. However, when multiple regime-debilitating events strike within a short period of time, thus pushing an incumbent to the precipice of power, opposition elites expect victory, accepting costly compromises to build alliances and seize power. Opposing Power shows how oppositions build these alliances through case study comparisons in East and Southeast Asia—between the Philippines and South Korea in the late 1980s, and between Malaysia and Singapore from 1965 to 2020. AUTHOR: Elvin Ong, Assistant Professor of Political Science, National University of Singapore COMMENTATOR: Jean Hong, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan CHAIR: Po Jen Yap, Professor of Law, HKU This webinar was organized by the Centre for Comparative and Public Law, HKU and was held via Zoom Meeting.