Populist voting beyond Western borders? Populist attitudes and electoral behaviour in East Asia

In the effort to study populism worldwide, scholars have found that East Asian populist actors exhibit distinct characteristics compared to Western populists. However, there is limited understanding of populism at the citizen level and its impact on voter behaviour in East Asia. Recent protests in Taiwan and Hong Kong provide a unique opportunity to explore this issue, as both movements reflect deep political discontent. This article investigates whether and to what extent populist attitudes influence electoral choice in these two countries. To test our hypotheses, we utilize data from Module 5 of the Comparative Study of Electoral System for Taiwan and Hong Kong. Results indicate that, controlling for all relevant factors, populist attitudes tend to predict anti-incumbent electoral choices; however, this effect primarily concerns the youngest generations of voters in both countries and is most evident in Taiwan. This has relevant implications, as it suggests that populist attitudes do apply beyond the West, but they need certain conditions to be activated and become a driver for populist support.