From Passive Erosion of Synergy to Strategic Disengagement: Knowledge Exchange in Hong Kong’s Higher Education under the Broader Context of Securitization

This paper examines the changing conditions of academic exchange in Hong Kong’s higher education amid the intensification of national security discourse following the 2019 protests and the implementation of the National Security Law. Drawing on securitization theory and the psychological concept of fluid compensation, it argues that the narrowing space for critical inquiry is not just the result of direct repression but reflects a deeper pattern of adaptive behavior. Scholars who find themselves facing constraints on academic freedom often respond not through overt opposition or alignment, but by redirecting their work toward less politically sensitive domains—a compensatory strategy that preserves meaning, stability, and professional identity. The study also highlights the intersubjective nature of securitization, which is shaped through the interaction between courts, government, media, academia, and the masses. In this context, academic silence and disengagement should be seen not as surrender, but as a form of negotiated adjustment to structural uncertainty and the shifting boundaries of permissible knowledge.