Clicktivism vs. commitivism: an empirical study on the relationship between social movement participation and vote intention

The relationship between movement participation and subsequent vote intention is a central topic in political science. Empirical studies present an ambiguous pattern, with one showing a mobilization argument, while the others suggest movement will substitute formal voting and lead to disengagement. The rise of clicktivism has added further complexity to the debate. However, existing scholarship often treats movement repertoires from the modality perspective, failing to capture the engagement level in the movement participation. To address this gap, we first differentiate two types of movement participation in the social media era: the commitivism and clicktivism, based on the resources committed in protest actions to examine the relation between movement participation and vote intention in Hong Kong. Drawing on a representative survey of 1,000 citizens conducted after the 2019 Anti-ELAB movement, we use ordered logistic regression to test our research questions. The study shows that the involvement of commitivism is negatively associated with voting intention while clicktivism is positively associated with vote intention. The empirical findings enhance the nuanced understanding of the structural dynamics of citizen political participation in societies undergoing authoritarian transitions following significant political system changes.