Minorities and Representation in American Politics / Edition 1

by Rebekah L. Herrick

Overview

Minorities and Representation in American Politics is the first book of its kind to examine underrepresented minorities with a framework based on four types of representation—descriptive, formalistic, symbolic, and substantive. Through this lens, author Rebekah Herrick looks at race, ethnic, gender, and sexual minorities not in isolation but synthesized within every chapter. This enables readers to better recognize both the similarities and differences of groups’ underrepresentation. Herrick also applies her unique and constructive approach to intergroup cooperation and intersectionality, highlighting the impact that groups can have on one another.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483386836
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

List of Spotlights, Tables, Figures, and Maps xii

Preface xv

About the Author xviii

1 Minorities and Representation 2

Who Are Minorities? Race as a Category 6

African Americans 9

Asian Americans 10

American Indians 10

Who Are Minorities? Ethnicity as a Category 14

Hispanics in America 14

Whites in America 16

Who Are Minorities? Gender and Sexual Minorities 17

Women 18

Gender Identity: Transgenderism and Nonconformity 18

Sexual Orientation 19

Representation 21

Overview of the Book 23

Conclusion: Similarities, Differences, and Intersectionality in Representation 24

Key Terms 26

2 Descriptive Representation and Minorities: Legislatures and Other Elective Offices 28

Levels of Descriptive Representation in Legislatures 30

Descriptive Representation in Congressional Leadership 37

State Legislatures 38

Levels of Descriptive Representation in Executive Positions 44

What Affects Levels of Descriptive Representation? 46

Voters 46

Context 49

Candidates 53

The Election of Minority Women 56

Descriptive Representation Is Not Sufficient 57

Conclusion: Similarities, Differences, and Intersectionality in Descriptive Representation 59

Key Terms 60

3 Minorities and Formalists Representation: Laws, Institutional Design, and Elections 62

Formalists Representation and the Right to Vote 64

Electoral Systems 71

Institutional Design 72

The Fourteenth Amendment 74

Conclusion: Similarities, Differences, and Intersectionality in Formalistic Representation 76

Key Terms 77

4 Policy Representation and Minorities in Legislatures 78

Key Minority Policy Interests 81

The Economy 81

Education 82

Criminal Justice Reform 84

Military Service 85

Individual Group Concerns 86

Does Descriptive Representation Lead to Substantive Representation? 89

What Affects Policy Representation? 94

Initiative and Referenda Effects on Minority Interests 100

Demonstration 101

Casework/Constituency Services and Pork Barreling by Minority Legislators 105

Conclusion: Similarities and Differences in Policy Representation 105

Key Terms 106

5 Minorities and Symbolic Representation 108

Measuring Minorities' Attitudes 111

Levels of Symbolic Representation 113

Feelings toward the United States 113

Trust 116

Efficacy 120

Presidential Approval 123

Direction of the Nation 124

What Affects the Symbolic Representation of Minorities? 126

Symbolic Legislation: Representing Minorities through Symbolic Actions 129

Conclusion: Decreasing Gaps in Symbolic Representation 129

Key Terms 130

6 Minority Representation and the Judicial Branch 132

The Court Systems 134

Descriptive Representation: The Numbers Game 136

What Affects Descriptive Representation in the Judicial Branch? 141

Descriptive and Substantive Representation in the Courts 146

Key Court Cases 149

Gender Cases 149

LGBT Cases 150

Race and Ethnicity Cases 151

Conclusion: Improving Descriptive Representation but Mixed Record of Courts' Protection of Minorities 152

Key Terms 153

7 Representative Bureaucracy 154

The Influence of Bureaucrats on Policy 156

Level of Passive Representation 159

Passive Representation at the Federal Level 159

Passive Representation at the State and Local Levels 165

What Affects Passive Representation? 169

Affirmative Action 169

Other Influences on Passive Representation 174

The Effects of Passive Representation on Active Representation 177

Conclusion: Similarities and Differences in Minority Representation in the Bureaucracy 180

Key Terms 181

8 Public Opinion and Minority Interests 182

Attitudes toward Racial and Ethnic Minorities 184

Attitudes toward Women 187

Attitudes toward LGBT Persons 188

Attitudes toward Affirmative Action 190

Attitudes toward LGBT Issues 193

Attitudes toward Abortion 195

Attitudes toward Immigration 195

Social Desirability Biases in Surveys 198

Influences on Americans' Attitudes toward Minority Interests 199

Conclusion: Varied but Increasing Acceptance of Minorities and Their Issues 209

Key Terms 209

9 Minority Groups and Political Resources 210

Size and Distribution of Minority Populations 212

Racial and Ethnic Minorities 213

Women 217

LGBT Persons 219

The Voting Eligibility of American Minorities 220

Citizenship 220

Age 222

The Socioeconomic Status of Minorities 223

The Civic Engagement of Minorities 229

Volunteerism 229

Religiosity 230

Conclusion: Variation among Groups in Their Resources 232

Key Terms 233

10 Acculturation, Group Consciousness, and Cohesion among Individuals with Shared Minority Status 234

Acculturation: The Extent to Which Minorities Are Part of the Dominant Culture 237

Group Consciousness: The Extent to Which Minorities See Group Status as Politically Important 239

Discrimination among Minorities 243

The Group Identity of American Minorities 245

Group Cohesion: Level of Shared Beliefs, Values, and Attitudes among Individual Minorities 248

Religion 249

Political Ideology 251

Party Identification 253

Vote Choice 256

Variation by Nationality 256

Effects of Acculturation and Group Consciousness on Voting Cohesion 258

Conclusion: Similarities, Differences, and Intersectionality among Minority Individuals 260

Key Terms 261

11 Minorities and Political Participation 262

The Vote 264

Other Forms of Political Participation 269

Explaining Political Participation 274

The Impact of the Minority Vote 281

Efforts to Reach Minority Voters 282

Conclusion: Increased Participation and Power but Differences Remain among Groups 284

Key Terms 285

12 Minority Movements and Interest Groups 286

The Civil Rights Movement 288

The Chicano Movement 293

The American Indian Movement 297

The Asian American Movement 299

Women's Movements 300

The LGBT Movement 305

Social Movement Theories 309

Interest Groups 313

African American Interest Groups 314

Hispanic Interest Groups 315

Asian American Interest Groups 316

American Indian Interest Groups 316

Women's Interest Groups 317

LGBT Interest Groups 318

Summary 320

Conclusion: Much Change since the 1950s 320

Key Terms 321

13 Multiminority Coalitions and the Future of Minority Representation 322

Multiminority Coalitions 324

Views of the Masses 326

Commonality 326

Prejudice and Stereotypes 328

Perceptions of Competition 329

Behavior 329

Coalitions among Elites 331

The Future: Trends in Representation 335

Minorities of the Future (Past and Present) 338

Muslims 338

Atheists 340

The Economically Poor 342

Final Thoughts: Should Minorities Be Lumped Together or Split into Different Groups? 344

Key Terms 346

Glossary 347

Notes 355

Index 397

Editorial Reviews

Rebekah Herrick is able to highlight many interesting facets of the minority experience without overwhelming the reader. It is hard for me to believe that there is any other book out there that provides such a detailed, thoughtful analysis as Minorities and Representation in American Politics.”

Eduardo Magalães

Minorities and Representation in American Politics comprehensively integrates discussion of race, gender, ethnicity, and intersectionality. In doing so, it facilitates the comparison and contrast of experiences of minority statuses far more effectively than other textbooks. The representational lens through which the text explores minorities in politics nicely ties together the different groups and themes, and Herrick does a great job of introducing relevant empirical research from inside and outside of political science.”

Ewa Golebiowska

“Minorities and Representation in American Politics is the most comprehensive treatment of minorities in politics that I have ever read. Herrick is able to cover multiple minority groups and does it in a fashion that does not neglect any of the relevant points that need to be addressed in a book of this kind. The scope of the text is sweeping, and it has no rival on the market.”

Brian Frederick

Herrick’s text provides a comprehensive examination of the distinctive minority groups within the U.S. political system and brilliantly navigates the intersectionality of gender and race/ethnicity with representation. While the book addresses many fundamental topics of minorities and covers a wide spectrum of the political institutions and behavioral aspects of representation in the United States, it also captures much of the recent scholarly debate and research in a way that remains accessible to the undergraduate.”

Karen Owen

Rebekah Herrick is able to highlight many interesting facets of the minority experience without overwhelming the reader. It is hard for me to believe that there is any other book out there that provides such a detailed, thoughtful analysis as Minorities and Representation in American Politics.”

Eduardo Magalães