Race, Identity, and the Determinants of Asian American Political Behavior

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Asian Americans, the fastest-growing racial group in the US, are exerting a growing influence on American politics, urging scholars to examine their political behavior. In addition, the dramatic rise in anti-Asian hate amidst the COVID-19 pandemic calls for renewed attention to deep-seated anti-Asian racism and its long-term political consequences. This panel brings together scholars whose works explore the factors that shape Asian American political behavior, ethno-racial identities, and the political implications of growing anti-Asian sentiment in the United States. In her paper, Tanika Raychaudhuri analyzes the process of political learning among Asian Americans, experimentally testing whether Asian Americans develop partisan views through political endorsements from peer networks. Jennifer Wu empirically assesses the implications of local demographics for pan-Asian racial identity and the downstream consequences of racial identification for political behavior. In their co-authored paper, Jae Yeon Kim, Joan Cho, and D.G. Kim explore the political underpinnings of pan-Asian racial identity, testing whether Asian Americans' views toward home country politics and shared marginalized status influence feelings of group consciousness. Finally, Nathan Kar Ming Chan and Vivien Leung explore the political consequences of growing anti-Asian sentiments amid the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing the role of the racial attitudes in shaping Americans’ vote choices between 2008 and 2020. These papers draw on a varied range of theoretical perspectives, empirical data, and methods to explore questions at the intersection of racial identification, anti-Asian sentiment, and Asian American political behavior. Taken together, this research has important implications for understanding contemporary American politics.

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Cosponsors

• Division 32: Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

• Related Groups / Asian Pacific American Caucus

Individual Presentations

• The Effects of Peer Political Endorsements on Asian Americans’ Partisan Views - Tanika Raychaudhuri, University of Houston

• Local Determinants of Identity Salience and Political Engagement among Asians - Jennifer Wu

• How Home Country and Host Society Identity Politics Conflict - Jae Yeon Kim, KDI School of Public Policy and Management; Joan E. Cho, Wesleyan University; D.G. Kim, Harvard University; Taeku Lee, Harvard University

Chair

• Pei-te Lien University of California Santa Barbara

Discussant

• Tyler Thomas Reny Claremont Graduate University