Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study considers two major perspectives of American politics, and their implications for political participation. One argument emphatically asserts the beneficial significance of "community," restated and operationalized as "social capital;" the other claims that race/ethnicity is a (more) significant factor. Seldom, however, have these two perspectives, which represent different strands of the American political tradition, been examined jointly and systematically as influences on political participation. Using National Election Studies (NES) data from two recent years (1996 and 2000) merged with state environmental data and multivariate analysis, the analyses indicate that state racial contexts shape voter turnout and other forms of participation; this is consistent with the "social diversity" thesis. On the other hand, higher state social capital is not associated with increased political participation. The findings may in part reflect differences in assumptions about and the measurement of the dependent variable: "political participation" related to the electoral process versus "civic engagement," and between competitive versus more consensual oriented dimensions of participation.