Description
Asia has recently witnessed a rise in mass struggles for democracy, notably in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Myanmar. While the struggles were each triggered by domestic affairs, civil society actors behind them have found connections and formed a transnational network dubbed the Milk Tea Alliance (MTA). This paper explores the evolution and implications of the MTA by tracing the connections between civil society and activists across Hong Kong, Thailand, and Myanmar. Applying aspects of social movement theories and transnational civil society to interviews and online protest content, the paper argues that the MTA should be understood as both the latest episode of a longer historical lineage of transnational civil society networks in Asia and a novel development showing some distinct features. While the networks behind the MTA can be traced through long-standing transnational connections at the leadership and organisational levels, the MTA linkages have shifted to a more individual, public level partly due to the extensive use of social media. Exploring the dynamics of the MTA allows for contribution to the scholarship on transnational advocacy networks, which often focuses on NGOs as actors, as well as offers a richer account of one of the world’s most recent transnational movements.
