Rethinking Models of Minority Political Participation

Inter- and Intra-group Variation in Political “Styles”

Bibliographic Data

ID24316047
AuthorsSunmin Kim (0000-0002-8560-4369)
Year2019
Volume16
Issue2
Pages489-510
Publication date2019-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDu Bois Review Social Science Research on Race (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1742-058X • E-ISSN: 1742-0598
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1742058x19000201
OpenAlexW2991347554
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited62

Political science research has repeatedly identified a strong correlation between high socio-economic status and political participation, but this finding has not been as robust for racial and ethnic minorities. As a response, the literature on minority political participation has produced a series of different models for different groups by adding group-specific variables to the standard SES model. In assigning a single model per group, however, the literature tends to overlook intra-group differences as well as inter-group commonalities, thereby effectively reifying the concept of race and ethnicity. Using survey data from Los Angeles, this article develops a different approach aimed at detecting intra-group differences as well as inter-group commonalities through a recognition of political “styles.” First, using latent class analysis (LCA), I identify a set of recurring configurations of individual dispositions (education, political knowledge...) and political acts (voting, protest...) that define different political styles. Then I examine the distribution of these political styles across racial and ethnic groups. The results reveal three novel findings that were invisible in the previous studies: 1) all groups feature a considerable degree of intra-group difference in political styles; 2) each group retains other political styles that cannot be captured by a single model; and 3) there are commonalities of political styles that cut across racial and ethnic boundaries. Overall, this article presents a model for quantitative analysis of race and ethnicity that simultaneously captures intra-group differences and inter-group commonalities.

latent class analysis · Los Angeles · minority political participation · political knowledge · political style · Protest · racial and ethnic minorities · Socioeconomic status · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Political Theory and Democracy · Race, History, and American Society