Identity and Political Behavior (Political Science)

Introduction

Over the past several decades, there has been an increasing amount of attention given to the concept of “identity.” While most political scientists recognize that the social identities they focus on the most—race, ethnicity, gender, class, and, increasingly, sexuality—are socially constructed, they also are cognizant of the fact that these identities have real implications for politics, writ large. Even though these identities are not necessarily rooted in biology, genetics, or objective categories, they do have symbolic, material, and political consequences. With the increased attention given to this concept, there has also been a proliferation of definitions, conceptualizations, and measurement strategies, so much so that some scholars have suggested that “identity is so elusive, slippery, and amorphous that it will never prove to be a useful variable for the social sciences” (Abdelal, et al. 2009, p. 18, cited under Methodological Challenges and Strategies). “Identity” can mean many different things, depending on one’s approach, focus, and outlook; what’s more, an additional layer of complexity arises from the changing nature of (personal and political) identities, many with expanding and contracting boundaries. Despite this contention, and for the sake of our purposes, identity is defined here as a psychological attachment to a group. Despite the sometimes ambiguous nature of the concept of identity, there is a great deal of evidence revealing that the way one self-identifies, or the way that members of a society impose a set of value-laden characteristics on various groups, structures beliefs about who should get what and where power should reside—the very essence of politics. The categories that social scientists focus on most are politically relevant because they tend to be hierarchical; in other words, power, resources, benefits, and disadvantages are doled out on lines of race, ethnicity, gender, class, status within a nation, and even sexuality. Relatedly, a society’s particular political environment can influence the salience of individuals’ personal and groups’ shared identity. As such, these identities will be the focus of this bibliography. The literature on the political effects of being in a particular group or identifying with a particular group is vast. One of the major pushbacks of the literature on identity politics is that it is implicitly essentialist. Essentialism embodies the idea that simply belonging to a group means that one will behave in a certain way or have a specific set of political ideas. However, social scientists, especially those who employ large-N, representative samples, are most likely to argue that they are exposing patterns of behaviors across or within groups, rather than crafting arguments of causality. To be clear, identity is one of the many factors scholars associate with political preferences and behavior, and, of course, not all social scientists believe that identity is even important, or at least not important for all groups at all times. The focus of this article will largely center on the American political context, but since one can better understand the effects of these aforementioned politically relevant identities by examining patterns across the globe, influential texts that focus on how identity and politics interact in other countries will also be incorporated.

Early and Foundational Contributions

Barth 1969 and Tajfel 1981 remain important, foundational contributions to the identity and politics literature, because these works present theories explaining how groups are formed, maintained, and changed, thus providing a theoretical apparatus to launch predictions concerning what happens when social groups and individuals interact with one another. To be specific, there are some works, like Tajfel 1981, that put forward a general social-psychological theory of how attachment to a group can influence attitudes and behavior. Meanwhile, works like Barth 1969 seek to develop theories around group boundaries and identity. This distinction is illustrative of the fact that, in general, there are some works that focus on specific types of identities, while others focus on identity more broadly. Overall, the literature reveals how power, self- and group-interests, prejudice, and interdependence influence how individuals and groups behave in the political realm. Indeed, social identity theory, as presented in Tajfel and Turner 1986, is the lynchpin of the literature, although Huddy 2001 puts forward an attention-worthy critique of both the theory and the oft-used methodological strategies of social psychology. Considering the fact that one’s identity may influence political attitudes and behavior, Jackman and Jackman 1973 examines the link between objective group membership and subjective group attachment (and differentiates between the two). Despite the notion that “identity matters,” Fearon 1999 steps back and takes on the challenge of pinning down an accurate definition of identity, a concept that is used widely by social scientists but rarely defined in many scholarly books and articles.

Barth, Fredrik. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference. Boston: Little, Brown, 1969.
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In the introduction of his edited volume, Barth challenged scholarly assumptions of rigid and impermeable group “boundaries,” especially ethnic boundaries, and instead shifted scholars’ focus toward the notions that people flow in and out of ethnic groups and, further, that cultural differences can persist despite contact and interdependence.
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Fearon, James D. “What Is Identity (As We Now Use the Word)?” Working paper (unpublished). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Department of Political Science, 1999.
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Fearon defines and explains a concept that many scholars use casually: identity. He argues that there are two primary ways to conceptualize identity—“social” and “personal”—and suggests that these are not necessarily overlapping. This paper is important due to the fact that defining this broadly used concept is actually quite complicated.
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Huddy, Leonie. “From Social to Political Identity: A Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory.” Political Psychology 22.1 (2001): 127–156.
DOI: 10.1111/0162-895X.00230Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Huddy critiques social identity theory (SIT), arguing that it does not shed light on the development of identities. He addresses the constraints of a focal methodological strategy—controlled, laboratory experiments—and argues for a concept based on a continuum of identities from weak to strong, and for a theory that explains how people acquire identities.
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Jackman, Mary R., and Robert W. Jackman. “An Interpretation of the Relation between Objective and Subjective Social Status.” American Sociological Review 38.5 (1973): 569–582.
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The authors clarify some important concepts in the literature; namely, identification and consciousness. Contending that although many are ascribed a particular identity (an objective identity), many do not necessarily feel an attachment to or have a consciousness of that group membership. They also assess the determinants of subjective social status.
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Tajfel, Henri. Human Groups and Social Categories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
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Tajfel asserts that even though the overwhelming majority of individuals’ interactions are one-on-one, people tend to think of themselves as members of particular social groups when they are interacting with others; when we see conflict between individuals, this conflict is representative of conflict between large-scale social and political groups.
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Tajfel, Henri, and John C. Turner. “The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior.” In Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Edited by Stephen Worchel and William G. Austin, 7–24. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1986.
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The authors argue that scholars either focus on interpersonal relations or intergroup relations, without thinking much about how we move from one to the other. Here, they develop social identity theory, helping researchers to explain how and why individuals think of themselves as group members, and why they tend to prefer their group over out-group members.
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Social Construction of Politically Relevant Identities

Social identities are constructed from the bottom up (e.g., societal norms, “common sense”), as well as from the top down (e.g., political institutions, elites, media). Major branches of governments, as well as ostensibly neutral institutions such as census bureaus, play a role in shaping politically relevant identities and group categories. They also assign social, political, economic, and even psychology benefits and disadvantages across groups. In addition to these political institutions, there is a policy feedback loop that serves to exacerbate the stereotypes and political advantages of politically relevant identity groups. Tangentially, another body of literature, primarily developed by social psychologists, describes the conditions under which group identities develop, particularly in the face of institutional or interpersonal discrimination and exclusion.

States and Legislatures

Governments—or the many individuals that make governments work—often develop politically relevant categories in order to provide benefits to certain members of society and exclude others. Davis 2014 explains how gender is socially constructed and how gender classifications can exclude some citizens from enjoying their rights. Davis 1991, Marx 1998, Sawyer 2006, and Smedley 2001 provide historical analyses of the laws and judicial orders that created not only the racial categories we see in the United States, South Africa, Brazil, and Cuba, but also the racial hierarchies that exist in these countries.

Davis, James F. Who Is Black?: One Nation’s Definition. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1991.
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This book provides a historical analysis of the “one-drop” rule in the United States. Davis examines how legislatures, courts, societal norms, and “common sense” constrained the boundaries of white identity, and in turn developed a black racial category.
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Davis, Heath Fogg. “Sex-Classification Policies as Transgender Discrimination: An Intersectional Critique.” Perspectives on Politics 12.01 (2014): 45–60.
DOI: 10.1017/S1537592713003708Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Davis begins this theoretically rich article by explaining that gender is a socially constructed identity. He then explains how binary gender categories actually disserve citizens who are transgender. Here, we see how institutions and street-level bureaucrats have a great deal of power in determining gender.
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Marx, Anthony W. Making Race and Nation: A Comparison of the United States, South Africa and Brazil. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
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This book provides an international comparative analysis of patterns in the United States, South Africa, and Brazil in an effort to illustrate the means by which states and governments develop and use racial categories to consolidate power and create or maintain white supremacy.
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Sawyer, Mark Q. Racial Politics in Post-revolutionary Cuba. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
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Sawyer develops a “race cycles” theory to explain the persistence of racial hierarchy in post-revolutionary Cuba. Through the use of historical analysis as well as quantitative and qualitative data, he illustrates how the state’s constraints of dialogue on race, a two-tier monetary system, and international tourism serve to exacerbate inequality.
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Smedley, Audrey. “Social Origins of the Idea of Race.” In Race in the 21st Century. Edited by Curtis Stokes, Theresa Melendez, and Genice Rhodes-Reed, 3–23. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2001.
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In this condensed article, Smedley explains the origins of the concept of race in the United States. She determines that the “invention” of racial categories served to exploit African labor and American Indian land, as well as to further limit rights and privileges to those ascribed a non-white identity.
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Census

Governments use censuses to count people, and in the United States the census is constitutionally required in order to assure that every Americans’ vote has equal weight. However, Nobles 2000 and Loveman 2014 reveal that census bureaus are not politically neutral organizations; rather, they have been and are used by elites (including scientists) to help form racial discourse. Williams 2006 and Paschel 2013 reveal that citizens are privy to the power of the census and use it to shape the way political and social advantages are doled out. Prewitt 2013 challenges the way the US census classifies and reifies racial categories and groups.

Loveman, Mara. National Colors: Racial Classification and the State in Latin America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
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Loveman illustrates how historical constructions of race and nation and international politics of development are intertwined. In various Latin American countries, censuses are used to develop a myth of racial inclusion, although accompanied by de facto marginalization. The book also shows that ideas about race cross state boundaries.
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Nobles, Melissa. Shades of Citizenship: Race and the Census in Modern Politics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2000.
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Nobles’s seminal text reveals that governments construct and reconstruct racial categories in part to determine citizenship status and provide some members of the state certain privileges. States may also choose to avoid the collection of racial data in efforts to develop a myth of racial harmony and democracy.
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Paschel, Tianna. “‘The Beautiful Faces of My Black People’: Race, Ethnicity, and the Politics of Columbia’s 2005 Census.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 36.10 (2013): 1544–1563.
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Paschel explains that an increasing number of self-identified Afro-Columbians are making demands on the state to measure race and ethnicity in a way that allows for more equitable public policies to be developed, with the help of more accurate accounts of the population.
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Prewitt, Kenneth. What Is Your Race?: The Census and Our Flawed Efforts to Classify Americans. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013.
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Prewitt, a former director of the US Census Bureau, argues that the racial categories Americans’ are accustomed to are based on anachronistic, 18th-century thinking. Instead, he suggests the United States change the way racial statistics are collected in order to more accurately match them with pressing public policy challenges.
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Williams, Kim M. Mark One or More: Civil Rights in Multiracial America. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006.
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The census has multiple uses; in a post–civil rights era it is used to track racial disparities, but it is also tied in with the politics of recognition. Williams illustrates how the multiracial movement sparked debates not only about the meaning of racial categories, but also about the role of the census in implementing public policies.
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Policy Feedback

States develop laws and policies that determine group boundaries, and many political, economic, and social advantages and disadvantages are dispersed on those lines. Schneider and Ingram 1993 shows that these policies have an effect not only on the groups themselves, but also how outsiders view the groups who are on the receiving end of helpful or punitive policies, generally exacerbating how we view these groups. Katznelson 2005; Kim 1999; and Soss, et al. 2011 provide concrete and illustrative examples of how policies themselves can influence identity and behavior.

Katznelson, Ira. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.
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This book provides a historical analysis of the influence of “race-neutral” policies, such as the GI Bill, that affect today’s wealth disparity between blacks and whites. This disparity influences the stereotypes of racial groups, which in turn influences the kinds of policies Americans view as appropriate in closing this disparity.
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Kim, Claire Jean. “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans.” Politics & Society 27.1 (1999): 105–138.
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Kim provides an analysis of the laws, policies, and norms that influenced the way that Asian Americans have been stereotyped historically. She elaborates on a theory of racial triangulation to show that racial groups are constructed in reference to each other, and shows that positive stereotypes can be used to perpetuate marginalization.
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Schneider, Anne, and Helen Ingram. “Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy.” American Political Science Review 87.2 (1993): 334–347.
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The authors develop a theory to show that policies can influence the development of politically relevant identities; powerful groups are generally provided with helpful polices, while those who are viewed negatively are doled out additional disadvantages, ultimately exacerbating stereotypes. There is a feedback loop on the development and maintenance of politically relevant identity groups.
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Soss, Joe, Richard C. Fording, and Sanford F. Schram. Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.
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The authors provide an illustrative example of how racial and class groups are developed by national, state, and local governments. More specifically, they reveal how race shapes poverty governance, and how poverty governance shapes racial meaning and inequality.
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Bottom-Up Identity Construction and Development

The psychology literature includes a vast body of work that examines the development of identity, especially among adolescents; this is best evidenced in Robert D. Laird’s Oxford Bibliographies article “Adolescence.” Chávez and Guido-DiBrito 1999 also provides a helpful, succinct overview of the literature on racial and ethnic identity development. However, at the intersection of politics and psychology, various scholars have outlined the ways in which politically relevant identities are formed and informed by hierarchical social systems; see, for example Huddy 2013 and Branscombe, et al. 1999. Giles and Evans 1985 also helps to link the role of politics and identity development.

Branscombe, Nyla R., Michael T. Schmitt, and Richard D. Harvey. “Perceiving Pervasive Discrimination among African Americans: Implications for Group Identification and Well-Being.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77.1 (1999): 135–149.
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Branscombe and Schmitt have published a score of important works that examine the effects discrimination and privilege have on the development of group identity and well-being, with consideration of various groups’ position in the social structure. This article, as an example, examines the extent to which perceptions of discrimination and group identification influence outcomes for African Americans.
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Chávez, Alicia Fedelina, and Florence Guido-DiBrito. “Racial and Ethnic Identity and Development.” New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 1999.84 (Winter 1999): 39–47.
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In this very succinct article, the authors provide definitions of race and ethnicity as well as a summary (and constructive critique) of the major theories that aim to explain how racial and ethnic identities are developed, including Cross’s theory of nigrescence and Parham’s cycles of racial identity development.
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Giles, Micheal W., and Arthur S. Evans. “External Threat, Perceived Threat, and Group Identity.” Social Science Quarterly 66.1 (1985): 50–66.
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There are actually relatively few articles that examine the development of white identity; however, this article explores the influence of real (political and economic) black “threat” on whites’ perceptions of threat, as well as the effects of those perceptions on white identity. Perceptions of threat influence white identity, especially among southerners.
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Huddy, Leonie. “From Group Identity to Political Cohesion and Commitment.” In The Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology. 2d ed. Edited by Leonie Huddy, David O. Sears, and Jack S. Levy, 737–773. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
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Huddy, a leading scholar in political psychology, provides an overview of the development of various identities in the political realm, as well as their (potential) effects. She reviews the literature of racial and ethnic politics, as well as partisanship and patriotism, two other kinds of identities that are important in the realm of politics.
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Theory and Definitions of Politically Relevant Groups

There are a number of socially constructed groups, but some have more political relevance than others. This section focuses on theories and definitions of race, ethnicity, gender, and nation. Overall, these categories and identities matter because they tend to be hierarchically arranged, with those in higher-ranking categories (e.g., white, cisgendered male, citizens) gaining more political, economic, and social favor than those in lower positions.

Race versus Ethnicity

To be sure, many scholars have used “race” and “ethnicity” interchangeably, but others have made an effort to disambiguate these concepts in efforts to develop conceptual clarity and consistency; see, for example, Omi and Winant 1994 and Wade 1997. Hattam 2007 analyzes the historical relationship between race and ethnicity. Bashi and McDaniel 1997 emphasizes that race is generally concerned not only with phenotype, but also with power and hierarchy. Meanwhile, ethnicity, especially in the US context, emerges from cultural identification. Kim 1999 contests the idea that there is only one hierarchy to consider when thinking about racial groups, asserting multidimensionality in the way groups are constructed. Brubaker 2002 and Chandra 2006 provide theoretically rich challenges to the way scholars study and think about ethnicity, especially in comparative politics.

Bashi, Vilna, and Antonio McDaniel. “A Theory of Immigration and Racial Stratification.” Journal of Black Studies 27.5 (1997): 668–682.
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The authors explain that race and ethnicity are not interchangeable concepts, emphasizing the notion that race is a system that places people in hierarchy, and thus has a major influence on life chances. Immigration is an influential mechanism that can change the shape of this hierarchy.
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Brubaker, Rogers. “Ethnicity without Groups.” European Journal of Sociology 43.2 (2002): 163–189.
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Brubaker challenges scholars to think beyond groups—ethnic, racial, and national—simply as truisms, but instead to consider the processes that create these groups, make salient these identities, and put these socially constructed groups into conflict with one another. Scholars should consider how categories become groups, and to what end.
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Chandra, Kanchan. “What Is Ethnic Identity and Does It Matter?” Annual Review of Political Science 9 (2006): 397–424.
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Coming from a comparative politics perspective, Chandra defines ethnicity as she believes it best applies to comparative politics research: attributes associated with descent. In this review, she provides other definitions used, and also evaluates theories that seek to explain the political effects of ethnicity (e.g., violence, stability).
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Hattam, Victoria. In the Shadow of Race: Jews, Latinos, and Immigrant Politics in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
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Hattam provides a historical analysis of the way that race and ethnicity evolved in the United States and provides analyses of more recent political events to help scholars better explain the ever-evolving relationship between the two (ultimately, in efforts to make predictions and prescriptions about underrepresented minority groups and political coalitions).
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Kim, Claire Jean. “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans.” Politics & Society 27.1 (1999): 105–138.
DOI: 10.1177/0032329299027001005Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Kim provides both a historical analysis of the ways in which Asian Americans have been racialized in the United States and a helpful analytical and theoretical framework—racial triangulation—that illuminates the idea that race in America is structured on at least two dimensions: statuses as insider/foreigner and superior/inferior.
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Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s. 2d ed. New York: Routledge, 1994.
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Omi and Winant begin this book by differentiating race from other important political identities, including ethnicity and nation, and then develop a pivotal theory of racial formation, which includes the state and its denizens as actors who can perpetuate (or disturb) the placement of groups in a racial hierarchy.
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Wade, Peter. Race and Ethnicity in Latin America. London: Pluto, 1997.
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This book provides an example of the role of race and ethnicity, as politically relevant identities, in the Latin American context. Wade employs the first chapter to differentiate between race and ethnicity, and then uses the remainder of the text to illustrate how these identities influence Afro-Latino and Indian politics.
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Pan-Ethnicity

Pan-ethnic groups are most certainly the “invention” of political institutions, for whom they are an effort to simplify the vast diversity of groups in society. There is a growing literature on the development of pan-ethnic identities and the political effects of grouping people who may have a shared language (Hispanic) or descend from particular geographic area (Asian, Latino). Both Lopez and Espiritu 1990 and Okamoto 2003 develop a theoretical apparatus for the concept of pan-ethnicity. Wong, et al. 2011 presents the political complexities that arise from grouping together an incredibly homogenous group: Asian Americans. Jones-Correa and Leal 1996 reveal that an attachment to a pan-ethnic identity can be very instrumental or fleeting, depending on the context. Meanwhile, Beltrán 2010, Rogers 2004, and Smith 2014 show the ways in which heterogeneity within a pan-ethnic group does not necessarily lead to a shared since of identity, or to political coalition among the group members.

Beltrán, Cristina. The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
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Beltrán employs theory from both the Western “canon” and Latin American studies to examine the effects of the complexity that group heterogeneity (including gender) presents to notions of Latino identity and politics; she illustrates her central argument through an examination of Puerto Rican and Mexican social movements.
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Jones-Correa, Michael, and David L. Leal. “Becoming ‘Hispanic’: Secondary Panethnic Identification among Latin American–Origin Populations in the United States.” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 18.2 (1996): 214–254.
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The authors remind readers that most Latinos identify with their national origin, rather than with a pan-ethnic group. Pan-ethnic identification is influenced and varies by national origin, generation, age, and education. This identity has an influence on some policy issues but is contextual and latent, and it is managed differently by each individual.
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Lopez, David, and Yan Espiritu. “Panethnicity in the United States: A Theoretical Framework.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 13.2 (1990): 198–224.
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This article assesses the relative importance of structural and cultural factors in identity development and change. In the United States, processes of racialization and geographic concentration are important factors in developing a sense of group attachment, but constant immigrant replenishment may dampen the strength of pan-ethnicity as an important identity.
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Okamoto, Dina G. “Toward a Theory of Panethnicity: Explaining Asian American Collective Action.” American Sociological Review 68.6 (2003): 811–842.
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This article explores how organization along ethnic boundaries affects collective group efforts at the pan-ethnic level. Okamoto tests theories of competition and occupational segregation to determine the contexts under which we should expect intragroup conflict, revealing that pan-ethnic identity is not a given for coalition.
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Rogers, Reuel R. “Race-Based Coalitions among Minority Groups: Afro-Caribbean Immigrants and African-Americans in New York City.” Urban Affairs Review 39.3 (2004): 283–317.
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Rogers reveals that both the institutional set up of New York City elections and the desire among African Americans and Afro-Carribeans for (ethnic) descriptive representation do not bode well for pan-ethnic coalitions; although both groups are ascribed a black identity, they do not necessarily see eye-to-eye on politics and policy.
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Smith, Candis Watts. Black Mosaic: The Politics of Black Pan-Ethnicity. New York: New York University Press, 2014.
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Smith asserts that it is important to view black identity as a pan-ethnic group in addition to a racial group; consequently, one should expect racism to homogenize some political attitudes, while ethnic differences may lead blacks across ethnic groups to disagree on the role of the state and policy solutions.
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Wong, Janelle, S. Karthick Ramakrishnan, Taeku Lee, and Jane Junn. Asian American Political Participation: Emerging Constituents and Their Political Identities. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011.
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This book studies the vast variation among those grouped and labeled Asian American. The authors use a survey of over five thousand Asian Americans from six major national-origin groups to answer some of the most important question about Asian Americans’ political behavior.
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Gender and Sexuality

With an increasing number of legal challenges for gender inclusion and equal rights for people across spectrums of sexuality, scholars have also begun to shed more light on the construction of categories of gender and sexuality, as well as on the political ramifications for these categories and the individuals ascribed to marginalized identities. Meyerowitz 2009 provides a history and overview of the debates surrounding sex, gender, and sexuality. Murib 2015 provides an analysis of recent history to explore how transgender became a salient political identity and politically cohesive identity group. Finally, West 2013 explores the performativity of citizenship among a relatively marginalized group.

Meyerowitz, Joanne J. How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.
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Although gender seems to be the least “socially constructed” politically relevant identity, it is indeed socially constructed, as thoroughly explained and explored in this book. Meyerowitz examines the history and (political and ethical) debates around sex, gender, and sexuality.
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Murib, Zein. “Transgender: Examining an Emerging Political Identity Using Three Political Processes.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 3.3 (2015): 381–397.
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Murib provides a history of the development of transgender as salient political identity and politically cohesive group; the author also highlights the consequences of homogenizing a heterogeneous population for the purposes of political recognition and cohesion.
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West, Isaac. Transforming Citizenships: Transgender Articulations of the Law. New York: New York University Press, 2013.
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West examines not only how laws have the ability to shape citizenship and the rights and privileges that are bestowed on groups and individuals, but he also takes on the task of illuminating how trans people and transgender advocacy groups enact and perform citizenship.
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Nation

While race and (pan-)ethnicity represent important social and political identity groups in the American context, ethnicity and nation are important concepts and social identity groups for those who study comparative politics (and to some extent international relations). Those who study comparative politics primarily examine countries/states that are relatively recent creations due to war, conquest, and colonization. As such, scholars in this area of study tend examine the consequences of superimposing contrived land/country borders over previously formed ethnic groups and tribes. Ozkirimli 2010 provides an overview of the theories of the development of the nation and national identity. Both Smith 1986 and Anderson 1986 develop two of the dominant theories of nationalism. Due to the increased number of refugees and asylum seekers in Europe, there is also a new and growing literature focused on the relationship between national identification and immigration, exemplified by Pehrson, et al. 2009. Despite the dominance of comparative politics on this issue, other scholars have explored the link between political behavior and national identity in the US context; see, for example, Transue 2007; Citrin, et al. 2001; and Schildkraut 2011.

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso, 1986.
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Anderson’s classic text aims to help us understand why people go to great lengths to support, fight for, and die for their nation; this book provides a historical analysis and political theory of the nation and nationalism.
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Citrin, Jack, Cara Wong, and Brian Duff. “The Meaning of American National Identity: Patterns of Ethnic Conflict and Consensus.” In Social Identity, Intergroup Conflict, and Conflict Reduction. Edited by Richard D. Ashmore, Lee Jussim, and David Wilder, 71–100. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
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The authors situate a theory of symbolic politics at the center of their examination of the extent to which members of various racial and ethnic groups feel a sense of attachment to America. They examine differences in beliefs about what constitutes American identity, as well as the weight groups put on their ethno-racial identities and a superordinate national identity.
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Ozkirimli, Umut. Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. 2d ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
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This book provides a comprehensive review and examination of the central theories of nationalism and identity, including primordialism, modernism, and ethno-symbolism. The book also examines new theoretical approaches to the subject.
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Pehrson, Samuel, Rupert Brown, and Hanna Zagefka. “When Does National Identification Lead to the Rejection of Immigrants? Cross‐Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence for the Role of Essentialist In‐Group Definitions.” British Journal of Social Psychology 48.1 (2009): 61–76.
DOI: 10.1348/014466608X288827Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Pehrson and colleagues examine the narrative/ideological dimension of collective identity in an effort to discern whether the way people think about their national identity (e.g., through an essentialist, primordialist lens) influences levels of prejudice toward out-group members, particularly immigrants and asylum seekers.
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Schildkraut, Deborah J. Americanism in the Twenty-First Century: Public Opinion in the Age of Immigration. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
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Schildkraut explores the contents of American national identity and determines if increased ethnic diversity threatens consensus about what this identity means. She assesses the role this identity has on policy preferences, particularly as they relate to immigration; examines the paths by which minorities adopt an American identity; and determines whether adaptation has positive political outcomes.
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Smith, Anthony D. The Ethnic Origins of Nations. Oxford: Blackwell, 1986.
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Smith argues that while the nation-states we see are relatively new, the idea of the nation is not. The first portion of the book focuses on ethnie, or older cultural groups tied together by memory and symbols; the second part examines the development of nations over time.
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Transue, J. “Identity Salience, Identity Acceptance, and Racial Policy Attitudes: American National Identity as a Uniting Force.” American Journal of Political Science 51.1 (2007): 78–91.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00238.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Intertwining the literatures on social identity, racial attitudes, and national identity, Transue explores the effects of making salient a superordinate—shared, umbrella—identity in the American context; through the use of experiments, he finds that a salient national identity can change policy preferences and reduce reliance on more particularistic identities, like race.
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Linking Identity to Politics

Being ascribed a particular identity by the state (via laws, judicial decisions, and census categories) can have political implications for an individual or for a group, but identifying with a group can also influence the way one makes meaning of political phenomena. There is an implicit assumption, based on the foundational work of Conover 1988, that leads people to believe that members of groups, especially low-strata groups, will be cognizant of their group membership, and that this awareness will influence group members’ political attitudes and behaviors. However, Junn 2006; Lee 2008; and McClain, et al. 2009 challenge this assumption and add complexity to the notion that group membership will automatically influence political behavior.

Conover, Pamela Johnston. “The Role of Social Groups in Political Thinking.” British Journal of Political Science 18.1 (1988): 51–76.
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Conover presents a framework for analyzing and predicting when social groups will influence political attitudes; this article defines key concepts (e.g., group membership, identification, consciousness, and affect) that are integral to understanding the larger literature of identity and behavior.
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Junn, Jane. “Mobilizing Group Consciousness: When Does Ethnicity Have Political Consequences?” In Transforming Politics, Transforming America: The Political and Civic Incorporation of Immigrants in the United States. Edited by Taeku Lee, S. Karthick Ramakrishnan, and Ricardo Ramírez, 32–47. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006.
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Part of a well-composed edited volume, in which Junn challenges the idea that with greater ethno-racial diversity, the United States is likely to become a more egalitarian society. She analyzes the tenuous relationship between identity and politics, especially for newcomers, and discusses the constraints that political institutions impose on immigrants and marginalized groups.
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Lee, Taeku. “Race, Immigration, and the Identity-to-Politics Link.” Annual Review of Political Science 11.1 (2008): 457–478.
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.051707.122615Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Lee calls into question the assumption that there is a direct link between identity and politics, and also illuminates the methodological assumptions (and fallacies) scholars employ when measuring race as a dummy variable.
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McClain, Paula, Jessica D. Johnson Carew, Eugene Walton Jr., and Candis S. Watts. “Group Membership, Group Identity, and Group Consciousness: Measures of Racial Identity in American Politics?” Annual Review of Political Science 12 (2009): 471–484.
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.polisci.10.072805.102452Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This essay synthesizes the literature that seeks to measure racial identity. The authors identify the inconsistencies in measurement strategies across the literature and present some solutions. Finally, the essay warns scholars against imposing measurements developed for one group on another, with an emphasis on measurements of group consciousness.
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Miller, Arthur H., Patricia Gurin, Gerald Gurin, and Oksana Malanchuk. “Group Consciousness and Political Participation.” American Journal of Political Science 25.3 (1981): 494–511.
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This article defines and conceptualizes group consciousness as a multidimensional construct, with group identification being just one of the major components. While most literature focuses on the influence of group consciousness on subordinate groups, this important article tests the link between consciousness and participation for groups of various strata.
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Racial and Ethnic Group Consciousness

Group consciousness and linked fate are critical concepts that help political scientists understand the connection between being ascribed to a group and mobilizing that identity in politics. The concept of group consciousness serves as a lynchpin in the racial and ethnic politics literature, especially black politics, because it helps to explain (a) why some groups who lack traditional political resources (i.e., education, income) may still be able to turn out at similar or higher levels than their resource-rich counterparts, and (b) the notion that people of color may be more likely to take into consideration the well-being of their group in their political decision-making calculus. Shingles 1981; Allen, et al. 1989; and Dawson 1994 present evidence for this idea, although others, like Bobo and Gilliam 1990, suggest that empowerment is a key determining factor of black participation. Chong and Rogers 2005 seeks to determine why we sometimes see group consciousness influencing political behavior, but not at other times. As the demographics of the United States began to change following the 1965 Hart-Celler Act (officially, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965), scholars began to focus on larger, faster–growing, and underrepresented groups, such as Latinos, Asians, and Muslims. With this literature arose a debate on the extent to which a concept—linked fate—originally intended to understand the link between African Americans’ political behavior and identity can be useful to other understanding other groups.

Allen, Richard L., Michael C. Dawson, and Ronald E. Brown. “A Schema-Based Approach to Modeling an African-American Racial Belief System.” American Political Science Review 83.2 (1989): 421–441.
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The authors formulate a model of black racial belief system. This belief system comes into being over time, and the strength of its components vary across individuals, time, and with exposure to information. They show that blacks are likely to use the group as a low-cost proxy for individual utility.
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Bobo, Lawrence, and Franklin D. Gilliam Jr. “Race, Sociopolitical Participation, and Black Empowerment.” American Political Science Review 84.2 (1990): 377–393.
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The authors note that as blacks gain more political power, we should also expect a change in what motivates them to participate; challenging a theory that centers group consciousness, Bobo and Gilliam examine the role of political empowerment as an important determinant of black political behavior.
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Chong, Dennis, and Reuel Rogers. “Reviving Group Consciousness.” In The Politics of Democratic Inclusion. Edited by Christina Wolbrecht and Rodney E. Hero, 45–74. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2005.
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This article emphasizes the difference between group identification and group consciousness, tests whether group consciousness is as important for African Americans as early literature suggests, and warns against using measures of consciousness developed for black Americans on other racial and ethnic minority groups.
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Cohen, Cathy J. The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.
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Cohen challenges the idea that “linked fate” implies that all members of the group are thought of as deserving of the group’s resources. Instead, she suggests that most blacks have a qualified linked fate, often marginalizing those deemed deviant or poor representatives of the racial group.
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Dawson, Michael C. Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African-American Press. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.
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This influential book develops the theory of the “black utility heuristic,” revealing that even with increased access to the middle and upper classes, blacks are still likely to consider their racial group membership when making political decisions.
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Jamal, Amaney. “The Political Participation and Engagement of Muslim Americans: Mosque Involvement and Group Consciousness.” American Politics Research 33.4 (2005): 521–544.
DOI: 10.1177/1532673X04271385Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article provides an excellent example of the nascent literature that seeks to determine the role of group consciousness for religious minorities (rather than racial minorities). Here the author seeks to examine the link between religious institutions, religious identity, and political behavior.
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Sanchez, Gabriel R., and Natalie Masuoka. “Brown-Utility Heuristic? The Presence and Contributing Factors of Latino Linked Fate.” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 32.4 (2010): 519–531.
DOI: 10.1177/0739986310383129Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article is representative of both authors’ work on the determinants and role of group consciousness on Latinos and Asian Americans. Here, they seek to determine whether Latinos have a sense of pan-ethnic group consciousness, given the diverse array of ethnic groups in the category.
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Shingles, Richard D. “Black Consciousness and Political Participation: The Missing Link.” American Political Science Review 75.1 (1981): 76–91.
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Shingles illuminates the idea that black group consciousness has such a dramatic effect on participation because group consciousness leads blacks to feel both a sense of political efficacy and a sense of mistrust.
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Gender, Sexuality, and Class Consciousness

A great deal of the literature on group consciousness focuses on blacks and other racial minority groups, but group consciousness may also influence the link between other identities—gender, sexuality, and class—and political behavior as well. Gurin 1985 highlights the idea that not all lower-strata groups will feel a sense of group consciousness, and that the strength of group consciousness may be influenced by the state of the political landscape. Works like Durant and Sparrow 1997 and Simien and Clawson 2004 highlight that there are intragroup differences in group consciousness. Egan 2012 provides a theory of group consciousness for members of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) communities.

Durant, Thomas J., and Kathleen H. Sparrow. “Race and Class Consciousness among Lower- and Middle-Class Blacks.” Journal of Black Studies 27.3 (1997): 334–351.
DOI: 10.1177/002193479702700303Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Although many groups are studied as monoliths, this article represents work that examines the intersection of various identities. The authors examine the extent to which group members have a greater sense of racial or class group consciousness, finding important class differences within a racial group.
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Egan, Patrick J. “Group Cohesion without Group Mobilization: The Case of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals.” British Journal of Political Science 42.03 (2012): 597–616.
DOI: 10.1017/S0007123411000500Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Egan argues that unlike race or gender, LGB citizens select into an identity group, and, in turn, he questions why this group is so cohesive despite lack of efforts to mobilize them. This article argues that it is the very idea of selecting into the group that helps us to understand why certain groups may behave similarly without outside mobilization.
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Gurin, Patricia. “Women’s Gender Consciousness.” Public Opinion Quarterly 49.2 (1985): 143–163.
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Gurin explores the relatively weak levels of gender consciousness for women; she notes that levels of group consciousness can be influenced by the political environment and thus change over time.
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Simien, Evelyn M., and Rosalee A. Clawson. “The Intersection of Race and Gender: An Examination of Feminist Consciousness, Race Consciousness, and Policy Attitudes.” Social Science Quarterly 85.3 (2004): 793–810.
DOI: 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2004.00245.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Considering that people belong to many (potentially competing) identity groups, the authors examine the relationship between gender and racial consciousness. Further, they develop a measure of black feminist consciousness, which is rooted in a theory of Intersectionality.
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Political Participation

In the US context, one of the major theories of political participation is that those with more resources (e.g., money, time, education) are more likely to participate in politics, but Verba, et al. 1993 fully elaborates on the link between race, resources and participation. What’s more, Latinos and Asian Americans do not seem to fit the theoretical mold; as such, an important body of literature has developed to explain the attitudes and behaviors of ethno-racial minorities. We are just as likely to see an increasing number of scholarly works (in the United States and abroad) examining the participation of LGBT citizens over time. Similar to the race gap in participation, there is also a gender gap in attitudes and behaviors; this body of literature is well cited and summarized in the Oxford Bibliographies article “Gender, Behavior, and Representation,” by Elisabeth Gidengil.

Cameiro, Nuno S., and Isabel Menezes. “From an Oppressed Citizenship to Affirmative Identities: Lesbian and Gay Political Participation in Portugal.” Journal of Homosexuality 53.3 (2007): 65–82.
DOI: 10.1300/J082v53n03_05Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Using qualitative data, the authors explore how political institutions can influence the way people feel about their identity; they also show that political participation can increase a sense of political efficacy and affirm marginalized identities.
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Fraga, Luis R., John A. Garcia, Rodney E. Hero, Michael Jones-Correa, Valerie Martinez-Ebers, and Gary M. Segura. Latinos in the New Millennium: An Almanac of Opinion, Behavior, and Policy Preferences. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139083577Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This book, written by some of the foremost scholars of Latino politics, describes and analyzes the lay of the land in this area, looking at political attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors of Latinos in the United Sates. The authors explore participation patterns as well as policy preferences, and much more.
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Hajnal, Zoltan L., and Taeku Lee. Why Americans Don’t Join the Party: Race, Immigration, and the Failure (of Political Parties) to Engage the Electorate. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2011.
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The authors provide a much-needed critique of two central theories of political partisanship and participation, given the vast changes in America’s racial demographics. They explore why Latinos, Asian Americans, blacks, and even white Americans are increasingly likely to identify as Independents, emphasizing the role of racial identity and immigrant status.
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Junn, Jane, and Kerry L. Haynie. New Race Politics in America: Understanding Minority and Immigrant Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511790577Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This edited volume presents research on the political attitudes and behaviors of ethno-racial minorities, with an emphasis on immigrant-replenished groups.
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Smith, Raymond A., and Donald P. Haider-Markel. Gay and Lesbian Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002.
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This book provides an overview of important definitions, the history of gay and lesbian social movements, and patterns of political attitudes and behaviors for gay and lesbians in the United States.
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Tate, Katherine. From Protest to Politics: The New Black Politics in American Elections. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1994.
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This is a classic text in black politics, examining the patterns of African American politics, using (what was at the time) an incredibly unique data set focused on the political attitudes and behaviors of black Americans.
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Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman, Henry Brady, and Norman H. Nie. “Race, Ethnicity, and Political Resources: Participation in the United States.” British Journal of Political Science 23.4 (1993): 453–497.
DOI: 10.1017/S0007123400006694Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article explores the gap in participation rates between white and non-white Americans, with a focus on Latinos and blacks. The authors find that the resources that lead individuals to participate are unequally distributed across racial groups, and assert that it is not race, per se, that influences participation.
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Wong, Janelle, S. Karthick Ramakrishnan, Taeku Lee, and Jane Junn. Asian American Political Participation: Emerging Constituents and Their Political Identities. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011.
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These esteemed scholars’ book studies the vast variation among those grouped as Asian Americans. They use a survey of over five thousand Asian Americans from six major national- origin groups to answer some of the most important question about Asian American political behavior.
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Identity and Political Representation

A major underpinning in representative democracies is that political representatives consider the substantive interests of their constituents. However, there is a debate regarding the extent to which descriptive representation and diversity in governmental institutions is also a necessary component to having a truly democratic and representative political system. McCool 2012 gathers contributors on various sides of this contentious debate in a well-crafted edited volume. Considering the vast literature that shows that one’s identity can influence one’s worldview, political attitudes, behaviors, and policy preferences, many scholars have focused their attention on whether political representatives who are members of historically underrepresented groups actually behave differently than those in dominant groups. That is to say, research reveals that women, racial minorities, and members of LGBT communities tend to present different kinds of public policies, advocate for members of their groups, and interact with their constituents in a different way than white, heterosexual men do; this literature is elaborated on in the section on Descriptive Representatives. Needless to say, in recognizing the strength and role that identity can play in politics, identity entrepreneurs may also take advantage of or manipulate shared identity in order to gain political favor. On the other side of this coin is the research that examines constituents and citizens who are represented by someone who shares a politically relevant identity with them. Mansbridge 1999 makes one of the most compelling cases for descriptive representation. But beyond this, scholars are in an ongoing debate concerning the most effective institutional mechanisms and best means with which to accomplish diversity in lawmaking bodies. Cameron, et al. 1996 and Lublin 1999 go head-to-head on the issue of gerrymandering, and Krook 2009 explores the potential for gender quotas.

Cameron, Charles, David Epstein, and Sharyn O’Halloran. “Do Majority-Minority Districts Maximize Substantive Black Representation in Congress?” American Political Science Review 90.4 (1996): 794–812.
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Creating majority-minority districts is a mechanism that allows minorities to have a better chance at electing a representative of their choice. This article explores the political ramifications of this kind of district on substantive representation and argues that majority-minority districts may do more harm than good for blacks.
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Krook, Mona Lena. Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195375671.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This book provides a comparative analysis of the origins and outcomes of quota systems, generally used to increase the number of women or minorities, in various countries.
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Lublin, David. “Racial Redistricting and African-American Representation: A Critique of ‘Do Majority-Minority Districts Maximize Substantive Black Representation in Congress?’” American Political Science Review 93.1 (1999): 183–186.
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Engaging in a debate with Cameron, et al. 1996, Lublin reexamines the effects of majority-minority districts, and includes the role of Latinos in voting patterns in addition to blacks; he determines that the implications of majority-minority districts substantially differ between the American North and South.
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Mansbridge, Jane. “Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent ‘Yes.’” Journal of Politics 61.3 (1999): 628–657.
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Mansbridge makes a strong case for the importance of descriptive representation for historically marginalized and underrepresented groups, such as women.
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McCool, Daniel. The Most Fundamental Right: Contrasting Perspectives on the Voting Rights Act. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2012.
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This edited volume brings together some of leading advocates and adversaries of the Voting Rights Act, which ultimately allowed blacks, Latinos, and language minorities to have a greater chance to participate in American politics, to debate the necessity of the act given the changes in America’s racial landscape and environment.
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Descriptive Representatives

While all representatives are “descriptive,” this term is usually a reference to legislators (or executives) who are members of historically underrepresented groups, including women, people of color, lesbian or gay individuals, and transgender people. The emerging consensus in the literature that examines the attitudes and behaviors of members of these groups is that they behave differently from white men—and from each other. A large proportion of this body of literature focuses on African Americans, because the number of black representatives increased almost exponentially after passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (and again after the 1990 census and round of gerrymandering). Works like Swain 1995 and Haynie 2001 examine the policies supported by black representatives, although they come to different conclusions about the role of identity on representatives’ behavior. Thomas and Wilcox 2014 gathers together a number of insightful scholars to illuminate the role of women in representative bodies and in politics more broadly. Brown 2014 and Reingold and Smith 2012 highlight the notion that representatives have multiple identities, and that the intersection of those identities has its own special influence on representatives. Finally, with the increasing latitude to identify as lesbian or gay, there has also been a larger number of openly gay and lesbian representatives; Herrick 2009 and Reynolds 2013 provide two exemplary examples of research in this area.

Broockman, David E. “Black Politicians Are More Intrinsically Motivated to Advance Blacks’ Interests: A Field Experiment Manipulating Political Incentives.” American Journal of Political Science 57.3 (2013): 521–536.
DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12018Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article represents an excellent example of testing the link between substantive and descriptive representation. Through a field experiment where the author emailed over six thousand state representatives, he finds that black representatives are more likely than white representatives to respond to blacks, even when there is not an electoral connection.
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Brown, Nadia E. Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women and Legislative Decision Making. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199352432.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Brown examines the diversity that exists among black women legislators through her development of representational identity theory. This book is concerned with the ways in which (various aspects of) identity and lived experiences influence the decision-making calculus of black women policymakers.
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Haynie, Kerry L. African American Legislators in the American States. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
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Haynie analyzes whether black policymakers are more likely to be “race men/women,” prioritizing the interests of their racial group, or “responsible legislators.” He examines agenda setting among black legislators (showing that blacks are more likely to introduce traditional civil rights legislation) and analyzes the way black policymakers are perceived by nonblack legislators.
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Herrick, Rebekah. “The Effects of Sexual Orientation on State Legislators’ Behavior and Priorities.” Journal of Homosexuality 56.8 (2009): 1117–1133.
DOI: 10.1080/00918360903279361Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article is representative of some of Herrick’s work on openly lesbian, gay, and bisexual legislators. Herrick provides evidence that LGB legislators are more likely to advocate for policies that serve LGB communities’ interests, thus showing a link between descriptive and substantive representation.
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Reingold, Beth, and Adrienne R. Smith. “Welfare Policymaking and Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in U.S. State Legislatures.” American Journal of Political Science 56.1 (2012): 131–147.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00569.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article shows that examining racial group membership or gender alone will not produce accurate conclusions about the behavior of political representatives. The authors take seriously the notion of Intersectionality in order to investigate how black, Latino, and white men and women view welfare policies.
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Reynolds, Andrew. “Representation and Rights: The Impact of LGBT Legislators in Comparative Perspective.” American Political Science Review 107.2 (2013): 259–274.
DOI: 10.1017/S0003055413000051Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Reynolds employs data from ninety-six nations over a five-decade span to explain the variation in the number of LGBT policymakers and to examine the relationship between the presence of LGBT policymakers and progressive policies; ultimately, countries with LGBT policymakers have more egalitarian policies concerning members of this community.
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Swain, Carol M. Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.
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Swain’s book is important not only because it focuses primarily on the link between descriptive and substantive representation among black legislators, but also because it sparked a debate about how to measure and assess this link. Ultimately, Swain concludes that black representatives are not necessarily important in effectively representing black interests.
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Thomas, Sue, and Clyde Wilcox. Women and Elective Office: Past, Present, and Future. 3d ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199328734.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This edited volume comprises a series of timely chapters on the complexity that women present to what we know about American politics. Some chapters focus on women at various levels and in different branches of government, while others focus on the intersection of gender and partisanship, sexuality, and other relevant identities.
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The Effects of (Not) Being Descriptively Represented

Citizens do care about the identity of their representatives, and research shows that sharing an identity with one’s representatives has both tangible and material payoffs, as well as intangible benefits, including psychological advantages. Haider-Markel 2007 and Chauchard 2014 provide evidence that the presence of historically marginalized groups may have vast effects on the entire population. Tate 2003, Wolbrecht and Campbell 2007, and Gay 2002 provide examples of the ways in which constituents react to being descriptively represented.

Chauchard, Simon. “Can Descriptive Representation Change Beliefs about a Stigmatized Group? Evidence from Rural India.” American Political Science Review 108.2 (2014): 403–422.
DOI: 10.1017/S0003055414000033Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article provides evidence that when previously excluded members of a society are provided the opportunity to gain access into policymaking/representative bodies, dominant group members’ perception of social norms and how to treat those previously excluded citizens improves. Chauchard shows that descriptive representation of subordinate groups can serve to improve intergroup relations.
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Gay, Claudine. “Spirals of Trust? The Effect of Descriptive Representation on the Relationship between Citizens and Their Government.” American Journal of Political Science (2002): 717–732.
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This article is representative of the many contributions Gay has made to the literature concerning the connection between descriptive and substantive representation. In this article she examines the intangible outcomes of descriptive representation, and finds that blacks and whites react differently to being represented by a racial group member.
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Haider-Markel, Donald P. “Representation and Backlash: The Positive and Negative Influence of Descriptive Representation.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 32.1 (2007): 107–133.
DOI: 10.3162/036298007X202001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While most scholarship focuses on the policy benefits that may derive from the presence of lawmakers from underrepresented groups, Haider-Markel explores the potential for negative consequences of certain groups having more representation. He finds that there are some negative ramifications, but that overall there are more policy benefits to LGBT communities by being descriptively represented.
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Tate, Katherine. Black Faces in the Mirror: African Americans and Their Representatives in the U.S. Congress. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
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Tate’s seminal text examines both black members of Congress and their constituents, in an effort to make conclusions about the role of racial group membership in policymaking and communication, and about trust between constituents and their representatives.
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Wolbrecht, Christina, and David Campbell. “Leading by Example: Female Members of Parliament as Political Role Models.” American Journal of Political Science 51.4 (2007): 921–939.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00289.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This article explores the ramifications of the presence of women policymakers on other women and girls. Moving beyond the policy implications of descriptive representation, the authors find that women policymakers also inspire women (especially young) to be more politically engaged and active.
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Identity Entrepreneurs

Realistic group conflict theory and social identity theory provide a foundation for understanding the rise and role of identity entrepreneurs. That is to say, when one is cognizant that people tend to have more positive feelings for their group members and want to procure resources for them, it becomes easy to understand how identities can be manipulated in the political realm. Much of the literature on identity entrepreneurs comes from comparative politics scholarship. This is best illustrated by DeHart 2010 and Posner 2005. Nonetheless, the ability to convince people to rally around a particular identity (or against another group) is not uncommon in American politics, especially in political campaigns, as noted by Kasinitz 1992 and McIlwain and Caliendo 2011.

DeHart, Monica. Ethnic Entrepreneurs: Identity and Development Politics in Latin America. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010.
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DeHart examines the emergence and effects of ethnic entrepreneurs, or those who are not only viewed as knowledgeable, positive representatives of their communities, but who also make promises of material benefits for their communities. DeHart also explores how identity and ethnic cultural differences are employed for political and economic development.
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Kasinitz, Philip. Caribbean New York: Black Immigrants and the Politics of Race. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992.
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While this book is primarily about the role that race and ethnicity play in the politics of black immigrants, Kasinitz also provides excellent examples and accounts of how political actors can focus on subgroups within a race (e.g., ethnic groups) in an effort to create new, cross-cutting political coalitions.
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McIlwain, Charlton, and Stephen M. Caliendo. Race Appeal: How Candidates Invoke Race in US Political Campaigns. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2011.
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Adding to the contributions of Tali Mendelberg’s The Race Card: Campaign Strategy, Implicit Messages, and the Norm of Equality (Princeton University Press, 2001), the authors explore the ways in which both white and non-White candidates use identity politics and appeals to race (in both positive and negative ways) in their campaigns, as well as the effects of those race-based appeals on voters.
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Posner, Daniel N. Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511808661Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Posner seeks to explain why some social cleavages become politically relevant in a specific moment. One of the major explanations he provides is the idea that people will vote for members of their own ethnic group because they believe that their co-ethnic representative will provide additional resources to members of that group.
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Political Coalitions and Conflict

Even though identities such as race and ethnicity are socially constructed, being categorized in any particular group can influence the way people believe resources should be distributed, in part because groups tend to be positioned hierarchically. These differences in opinion about how resources (and representation) should be allocated are often a cause of group conflict. Sonenshein 1993 and Kaufmann 2004 provide examples and theories about when we should expect cross-racial political coalitions or competition. Additionally, since some groups have a lower status in various hierarchies, it seems that those lower-placed groups would or should work together in politics, but whether and under what circumstances that will be the case is a question with which social scientists are grappling. Kim 2000 and Telles, et al. 2011 explain why underrepresented minority groups may be at odds with one another. Frymer 2010 examines the role of parties as political institutions that have the power and ability to build coalitions or exclude certain identity groups.

Frymer, Paul. Uneasy Alliances: Race and Party Competition in America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010.
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Considering the idea that one’s (racial) group membership and identity may have an influence on one’s life chances, it becomes clear why various groups align with certain political parties. Frymer assesses the extent to which the United States’ two-party system incorporates minority groups, with a special focus on blacks.
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Kaufmann, Karen M. The Urban Voter: Group Conflict and Mayoral Voting Behavior in American Cities. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004.
DOI: 10.3998/mpub.11800Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Kaufmann explores the political dynamics between various racial groups. She determines that interracial conflict can lead people to behave differently at the polls, where high conflict leads people to focus on race. In low-conflict situations, however, people rely on other political identities (i.e., partisanship) and ideology.
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Kim, Claire Jean. Bitter Fruit: The Politics of Black-Korean Conflict in New York City. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000.
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Kim’s book not only examines the way that members of “conflicting” identity groups view their relationship with each other, but it also explains how larger systems of racial power influence these relationships.
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Sonenshein, Raphael J. Politics in Black and White: Race and Power in Los Angeles. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
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The central questions raised in this book are whether biracial coalitions are needed to advance the civil rights of minority groups, and why biracial coalitions rise and fall. Sonenshein provides a history of several successful and failed biracial coalitions in Los Angeles and New York.
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Telles, Edward, Mark Sawyer, and Gaspar Rivera-Salgado. Just Neighbors?: Research on African American and Latino Relations in the United States. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2011.
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Chapters in this edited volume examine the relations between blacks and Latinos across the United States, some with a national focus, others with a focus on specific cities. The authors provide data and analysis about the extent to which racial and ethnic identity influence behaviors and attitudes about other politically relevant identity groups.
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Ethnic Conflict

Generally, when political scientists talk about conflict between groups in the comparative or non-American context, they use the term “ethnic conflict.” Ethnicity is different from race, but in contexts where ethnicity is a major division in society, intense conflict may ensue, as thoroughly explained by Horowitz 2000. Rather than examining attitudes and behaviors at the individual level, which is often a perspective that Americanists take, comparative politics scholars tend to examine conflict from a macro perspective, centering factors like institutions, demographics, and political stability, in their attempts to explain and predict civil wars and interethnic violence (or the lack thereof); works like this are well represented by Fearon and Laitin 1996 and Fearon and Laitin 2003. Both Birnir 2006 and Wilkinson 2006 show how electoral institutions can affect the propensity for ethnic violence.

Birnir, Jóhanna Kristín. Ethnicity and Electoral Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511607530Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Birnir explains the role of (ethnic) political parties in preventing or sparking ethnic violence, arguing that ethnic groups (in democracies) turn to violence only when they feel that their votes do not have influence on policy; that is to say, political parties can accelerate or hinder violence by excluding or including various ethnic groups.
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Fearon, James D., and David D. Laitin. “Explaining Interethnic Cooperation.” American Political Science Review 90.4 (1996): 715–735.
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Although understanding the roots of ethnic conflict is important, the authors seek to understand why interethnic cooperation is more prevalent. They develop a theory that explains that groups police their members in efforts to avoid a spiral into intractable intergroup conflict.
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Fearon, James D., and David D. Laitin. “Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War.” American Political Science Review 97.1 (2003): 75–90.
DOI: 10.1017/S0003055403000534Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Fearon and Laitin complicate the notion that ethnic heterogeneity in a particular society is the primary explanatory variable in the probability that a country will experience civil war; instead, they argue for factors that are more closely related to political institutions and stability, rather than identity divisions among the populations.
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Horowitz, Donald L. Ethnic Groups in Conflict. 2d ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
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This 700-page book is a classic in ethnic conflict literature and has sparked many conversations and debates in the field. Horowitz defines ethnicity and develops a theory of ethnic conflict, secession, irredentas, and ethnic parties; he also examines institutional setups that could ameliorate or prevent conflict in multiethnic societies.
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Wilkinson, Steven I. Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
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Wilkinson provides insight into some of the determinants of ethnic violence in India, with a focus on the role of electoral context and political institutions.
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Ethnocentrism, Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia

In addition to the political conflict that arises from the hierarchical nature of various politically relevant identities, dominant identity groups also tend to try to maintain their status; out of this arises feelings of ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and racial supremacy, each of which influences the political attitudes, ideologies, and behaviors of some members of society, as explained by Allport 1979. While works like Kinder and Sanders 1996 provide evidence that racial resentment has an influence on (white) Americans’ policy preferences, Sears, et al. 2000 show that this conclusion is highly debated. Just as race is a consideration in individuals’ vote choice and policy preferences, gender and sexuality are as well. Huddy and Terkildsen 1993 and Golebiowska 2002 provide examples of the scholarship that explores the ways in which gender stereotypes and homophobia can influence candidate evaluations. Sidanius, et al. 1994 present a theory that asserts that some personality types are more likely to elevate in-group bias to more oppressive, intrusive, and even violent behavior toward out-group members.

Allport, Gordon W. The Nature of Prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1979.
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Originally published in 1954. One of the most influential books in social psychology lays out a foundational theory of prejudice or bias against other groups. Allport’s law of least effort purports that people use stereotypes to reduce the complexity that the world presents to us, even if unreasonable or inaccurate.
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Golebiowska, Ewa A. “Political Implications of Group Stereotypes: Campaign Experiences of Openly Gay Political Candidates.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32.3 (2002): 590–607.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb00232.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Golebiowska examines the responses of openly gay political candidates; that is to say, she examines the perceptions of candidates about the extent to which stereotypes influenced their electoral efforts.
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Huddy, Leonie, and Nayda Terkildsen. “The Consequences of Gender Stereotypes for Women Candidates at Different Levels and Types of Office.” Political Research Quarterly 46.3 (1993): 503–525.
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This article provides evidence that people hold stereotypes about the political capacity and ability of men and women, as well as whether particular political roles (at various levels of government) are better suited to men or women. These stereotypes have negative consequences for women who have national electoral goals.
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Kinder, Donald R., and Lynn M. Sanders. Divided by Color: Racial Politics and Democratic Ideals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
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Noting the vast difference of opinion that whites and blacks have regarding certain (racialized) issues, the authors explain the components of public opinion. They examine role of self-interest and ideology, and also consider the effects of social identity, where sympathy for your group or antipathy for another can influence policy preferences.
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Sears, David O., Jim Sidanius, and Lawrence Bobo. Racialized Politics: The Debate about Racism in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
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Chapters in this edited volume are written by some of the foremost scholars in the field of racial attitudes; each takes a position and provides evidence for that position on whether and to what extent racialized policy preferences (of whites) are dictated by racism, principle, or something else.
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Sidanius, Jim, Felicia Pratto, and Michael Mitchell. “In-Group Identification, Social Dominance Orientation, and Differential Intergroup Social Allocation.” Journal of Social Psychology 134.2 (1994): 151–167.
DOI: 10.1080/00224545.1994.9711378Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors situate social dominance orientation (SDO), a theory aimed to explain assertive, intrusive, oppressive, and sometimes violent forms of group interaction, at the center of this article. They show that even when one controls for gender, self-esteem, and in-group identification, SDO explains a great deal about why some people have such high levels of in-group bias and favorability.
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Assimilation and Acculturation

Research shows that as immigrants learn the culture of their new home, identities, political attitudes, and behaviors are also likely to change. Gordon 1964 is a classic text, which others have used as a backdrop to launch new theories of assimilation and acculturation. There is a growing body of literature in this area, due both to the ostensibly constant flow of immigrants from Latin American, Asia, and Africa and to the regular bursts of backlash against these immigrants, specifically in the context of the United States. Given the idea that non-European immigrants may have a different path to assimilation than Irish, Italian, or Jewish immigrants, as examples, some scholars have developed alternative theories of assimilation, as in the case of Portes and Zhou 1993, which is sharply critiqued by Stepick and Stepick 2010. Works such as Pedraza 2014; Fuchs 1990; and de la Garza, et al. 1996 explore identity change due to acculturation and assimilation, the influence of changing identity on political preferences, and the influence of backlash on the way that immigrants view their own identities and their political attitudes and behaviors.

de la Garza, Rodolfo O., Angelo Falcon, and F. Chris Garcia. “Will the Real Americans Please Stand Up: Anglo and Mexican-American Support of Core American Political Values.” American Journal of Political Science 40.2 (1996): 335–351.
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The authors explore the role of group consciousness and acculturation in adopting traditional American political values—economic individualism and patriotism—among whites and Mexican Americans. The authors note that cultural assimilation does not necessarily lead to structural integration, so discerning the political consequences (of the attitudes of otherwise marginalized groups) is important.
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Fuchs, Lawrence H. The American Kaleidoscope: Race, Ethnicity, and the Civic Culture. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 1990.
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Fuchs examines the implications and ramifications of an increasingly diverse American population on American society, politics, policy, and civic culture. He builds on and uses the work of Milton Gordon, and also explores the roles of discrimination and disenfranchisement, especially as it relates to African Americans.
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Gordon, Milton M. Assimilation in American life: The role of race, religion and national origins. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964.
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This is a classic text that develops a theory of how immigrants integrate and assimilate into society. Gordon outlines seven stages of assimilation (acculturation followed by structural, marital, and identification assimilation; attitude and behavior reception; and civic assimilation). He also points out the role of discrimination in this process.
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Pedraza, Francisco I. “The Two-Way Street of Acculturation, Discrimination, and Latino Immigration Restrictionism.” Political Research Quarterly 67.4 (2014): 889–904.
DOI: 10.1177/1065912914538547Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Pedraza addresses a paradox presented in the literature that addresses assimilation and behavior, providing evidence that perceived (group) discrimination has different effects at different levels/stages of assimilation on Latinos’ policy preferences.
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Portes, Alejandro, and Min Zhou. “The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and Its Variants.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 530 (1993): 74–96.
DOI: 10.1177/0002716293530001006Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In recognizing that post-1965 immigrants of color are not likely to assimilate and be incorporated into American society in the same way as European immigrants, Portes and Zhou developed a theory of segmented assimilation; this theory explains that there are multiple “paths” for immigrants of color to take, including vulnerability to downward assimilation.
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Stepick, Alex, and Carol Dutton Stepick. “The Complexities and Confusions of Segmented Assimilation.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 33.7 (2010): 1149–1167.
DOI: 10.1080/01419871003599518Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors of this article present an important critique of Portes and Zhou’s segmented assimilation (see Portes and Zhou 1993), arguing that the theory overstates the causal strength of culture while not centering structural inequalities faced by people of color; they call for larger, quantitative studies to provide more evidence on the applicability of the theory.
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Intersectionality

Historically, scholars have implicitly suggested that politically relevant identities work independently from one another—either by focusing, for example, on “women” or “Latinos,” without also considering the role that race or gender plays for members within those groups, respectively, or through methodological shortcomings, such as interacting race and gender “dummy variables” to make conclusions about the relationship between the two. Nonetheless, an emerging consensus holds that due to individuals’ positionality in multiple hierarchical identity categories, outcomes will vary vastly within groups. Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term intersectionality, lays the theoretical foundation for this concept in Crenshaw 1991. Dhamoon 2010, Jordan-Zachery 2007, and Smooth 2006 elaborate on the necessity and usefulness of intersectionality as a research paradigm.

Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.” Stanford Law Review 43.6 (1991): 1241–1299.
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Cited over seven thousand times, this article presents the theoretical and foundational conceptualization of intersectionality, which helps to explain how the overlapping of multiple politically relevant identities can lead to different outcomes and outlooks for individuals. Crenshaw presents the concepts of structural, political, and representational intersectionality, as well as examples.
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Dhamoon, Rita Kaur. “Considerations on Mainstreaming Intersectionality.” Political Research Quarterly 64.1 (2010): 230–243.
DOI: 10.1177/1065912910379227Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Dhamoon makes an argument to integrate intersectionality into mainstream social science research, considering its capacity to help to understand and explain the complexity presented by identities and the way that people behave and understand the world; further, the paradigm challenges hegemonic ontological positions of how to conduct research.
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Jordan-Zachery, Julia S. “Am I a Black Woman or a Woman Who Is Black? A Few Thoughts on the Meaning of Intersectionality.” Politics & Gender 3.2 (2007): 254–263.
DOI: 10.1017/S1743923X07000074Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Jordan-Zachery presents an argument for the contribution of intersectionality, explaining that the concept actually provides an alternative to identity politics, and highlights the diversity that exists between and among groups, as well as providing insight into both inter- and intragroup dynamics.
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Smooth, Wendy. “Intersectionality in Electoral Politics: A Mess Worth Making.” Politics & Gender 2.3 (2006): 400–414.
DOI: 10.1017/S1743923X06261087Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Smooth argues that when we focus on electoral politics, we should also consider the structures that influence men and women differently; the “new black voter,” for example, is disproportionately female because of high rates of incarceration among men. Examining diversity among women would provide greater, more accurate insight into the study of electoral behavior.
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Methodological Challenges and Strategies

Scholars view and understand identity differently, and, in turn, they measure and attempt to capture identity in a variety of ways. Abdelal, et al. 2009 shows how true this is. Nonetheless, many scholars have made an effort to both clarify the concept and strategize about how to quantify, measure, and operationalize it. Even though most of the literature on social identity is rooted in psychology, political scientists rarely refer back to it when trying to measure identity. For example, political scientists note that racial identity is multidimensional, but they may use only one question to measure identity. Sellers, et al. 1998, by psychologists, provides a model of a multidimensional measure of racial identity. Burton, et al. 2010 takes a step back to think about why we use the questions we do, and also provides comments on how to better measure what scholars are trying to get at. Finally, taking seriously the idea that dummy variables are not the most effective way to assess the role of identity on political behavior, both Hancock 2007 and Masuoka and Junn 2013 present an argument on how best to accomplish the task at hand.

Abdelal, Rawi, Yoshiko M. Herrera, Alastair Iain Johnston, and Rose McDermott. Measuring Identity: A Guide for Social Scientists. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511810909Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This edited volume’s chapters are dominated by lead social scientists who focus on issues of identity. The chapters provide a review of the debates in the field, particularly as they pertain to methodological strategies and approaches in measuring and conceptualizing identity.
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Burton, Jonathan, Alita Nandi, and Lucinda Platt. “Measuring Ethnicity: Challenges and Opportunities for Survey Research.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 33.8 (2010): 1332–1349.
DOI: 10.1080/01419870903527801Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The authors present an array of important critiques about identity research. They note that identities are dynamic and multidimensional, and argue that the categories are often state-imposed and not necessarily representative of the way that people think of themselves. Solutions include asking multiple questions or open-ended questions.
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Hancock, Ange-Marie. “When Multiplication Doesn’t Equal Quick Addition: Examining Intersectionality as a Research Paradigm.” Perspectives on Politics 5.1 (2007): 63–79.
DOI: 10.1017/S1537592707070065Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Hancock’s body of scholarly work illuminates the contribution of intersectionality. Here, she explains that intersectionality is a paradigm—an approach to conducting research. An important point presented here is that employing intersectionality as an approach means that one must consider not only how to analyze data, but also how to collect it.
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Masuoka, Natalie, and Jane Junn. The Politics of Belonging: Race, Public Opinion, and Immigration. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226057330.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While this book examines the role of identity on public opinion, it also presents an approach to accurately determining the connection between the two. Rather than use “dummy variables,” they advocate comparative relational analysis as a methodological strategy, which calls for examining politically relevant groups separately.
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Sellers, Robert M., Mia A. Smith, J. Nicole Shelton, Stephanie A. J. Rowley, and Tabbye M. Chavous. “Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity: A Reconceptualization of African American Racial Identity.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 2.1 (1998): 18–39.
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Sellers and colleagues provide a helpful example of the way that the complexities presented by multidimensionality and changing salience of identity can (or cannot) be measured. They present a theory-based model for measuring identity using a battery of questions, rather than just one.
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Journals

While the top journals in Political Science (e.g., American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics) and Sociology (American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review) include articles concerning identity and behavior, there are several journals that devote the overwhelming majority of their space to the ways in which identity and politics interact; indeed, there are a growing number of journals focused on race and ethnicity, as many top journals have, historically, been likely to exclude articles focused exclusively on non-white racial groups.

Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. 2016–.
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JREP is the official journal of race, ethnicity and politics of the American Political Science Association. First issue was published in March 2016.
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Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. 1980–.
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Formerly known as Women and Politics (1980–2004), this journal examines the role of women in politics as well as the effects of policy on outcomes for women.
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National Political Science Review.
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This journal is an annual publication of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. The scholars that contribute to this journal come from an array of social science disciplines, but they all provide empirical research on the ways in which members of various groups—with an emphasis on race, ethnicity, and gender—are advantaged or disadvantaged in the realms of politics and public policy.
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Politics & Gender. 2005–.
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This journal comes out of the American Political Science Associations’ Women and Politics Research Section. Its articles primarily ask and seek to answer political science (across the discipline’s major divisions) questions focused on gender difference.
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Politics, Groups, and Identities. 2013–.
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Published for the Western Political Science Association, this relatively new journal focuses on the ways that various identities (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, immigration) influence and are influenced by politics in the United States and globally.
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Related Bibliographies

While this article primarily focuses on the definitions of identity and the influences of identity on political behavior, there are a number of complementary Oxford Bibliographies articles that provide background on more specific identity groups and political outcomes.

Carew, Jessica. “Minority Political Engagement and Representation in the United States.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Political Science. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
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Carew presents a bibliography focused on the scholarship that not simply superimposes theories aimed to understand white Americans’ civic engagement on non-whites, but instead develops explanatory frameworks to help understand why ethno-racial minorities behave politically.
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Dittmar, Kelly, and Kira Sanbonmatsu. “Gender and Electoral Politics in the United States.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Political Science. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
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This article focuses primarily on the literature that engages questions around women as candidates and as political representatives, as well as women as voters and political actors.
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Gidengil, Elisabeth. “Gender, Behavior, and Representation.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Political Science. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
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The author presents an array of scholarly books and articles focused primarily on gender and women in politics. She provides citations on relevant topics such as gender gap, political knowledge, policy preferences, representation, and methodological strategies aimed at gauging the effects of gender.
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Tillery, Alivin B. “Race in American Political Thought.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Political Science. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
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This bibliography provides a plethora of citations centered on the role of race in American political theory, as well as the history of race in American political and social thought. Tillery also includes citations by and about some of the most important scholars on issues of race in the United States (e.g., W. E. B. DuBois, Alexis de Tocqueville).