Anti-Minority Politics and Political Participation: Evidence from Four Countries

• In Event: Racial Policy Determines Racial Politics

Abstract

Anti-minority politics are on the rise around the globe, ranging from Donald Trump’s attacks on Latinos and Muslims, anti-immigrant rhetoric in the Brexit Referendum, the “barbaric cultural practices” controversy in the 2015 Canadian Federal election, and the radical right AfD winning seats in Germany.

We investigate the effects of these anti-minority attacks on mobilization of minorities: does it increase their political participation? While previous research suggests that policy threat and bureaucratic discrimination may increase participation, there is little causal evidence on the effects of political rhetoric or campaigns.

This study draws on survey experiments using ethnic minority samples and a two-wave design in four countries: Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The treatment is exposure to politicians’ anti-minority attacks. Drawing on a pilot study, we expect increases in stated and behavioural measures of participation, and that effects will be especially strong among low political-interest, high-linked fate, and high-group identifying respondents. Finally, anti-minority rhetoric should increase the strength of identification with the targeted group. Similar results across a range of countries and groups suggest minorities generally respond to political attacks by increased mobilization and participation, rather than avoidance or alienation from politics.

Authors

• Randy Besco, University of Toronto

• Stephen D. Fisher, University of Oxford

• Sergio I Garcia-Rios, Cornell University

• Julius Lagodny

• Kassra AR Oskooii, University of Delaware

• Erin Tolley, University of Toronto