글로벌 연계성과 도시변동: 홍콩경제의 흥망성쇠에 대한 사회공간이론적 해석 = Global Connectivity and Urban Transformation: A Sociospatial-Theoretical Interpretation of the Rise and Fall of Hong Kong’s Economy

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Hong Kong is a singular city that has transformed from a rocky island in the South China Sea into one of the world's three foremost financial hubs and a leading logistics center in Asia. However, recent analyses and projections indicate that the city is retreating from its status as a global hub and increasingly repositioning itself within China's periphery. The prevailing explanation attributes this shift to ‘Sinicization’ or ‘mainlandization,’ yet this perspective is insufficient, as it focuses narrowly on short-term shifts in Hong Kong's relationship with China.
This article reinterprets Hong Kong's economic transformation since the mid-19th century through the lens of global connectivity, employing social space theory and geopolitical-economic concepts—particularly those concerning the world market and a urban regime. Its central arguments are as follows: First, under British hegemony, Hong Kong functioned as a critical node in the formation of the 19th-century world market, a role that facilitated its rapid ascent in the latter half of the century. Second, it played a similar role in the 20th-century world market under American hegemony. However, its economic rise during the Cold War was shaped not only by British and American influences but also by overseas Chinese merchant networks operating through Hong Kong, as well as transpacific straddling merchant networks. In the same vein, Hong Kong's decline in the 21st century can be understood through shifts in the world market and the resulting reconfiguration of Chinese and transpacific merchant networks. Building on this interpretation, this artile argues that the trajectories of urban economic ascent and decline are shaped by whether a city is embedded within networks that generate differential accumulation by linking to the economic core of the world market.