In solidarity? The influence of Asian American racial group consciousness on political behavior

This dissertation investigates the dimensions of Asian American racial group consciousness and evaluates the effects of consciousness on Asian American political behavior. Political scientists find a strong connection between racial group consciousness and political participation. Black racial group consciousness has been shown to shape political orientations and increase participation among African Americans. In contrast, the effects of group consciousness are weaker and less consistent among Asian Americans and Latinos. This raises questions about the generalizability of existing measures of racial group consciousness currently used in studies of minority political behavior. In this dissertation, I construct an alternative measure of racial group consciousness specifically tailored to reflect the unique racialization experiences of Asian Americans. As a group, Asian Americans are racially triangulated between whites and Blacks. They are socially constructed as "model minorities," a group whose individual life chances are not influenced by race and allows them to successfully integrate into the U.S., but at the same time, they are consistently lumped together racially, as perpetual foreigners with very little distinction, even among individuals. Due to this unique position in the American racial hierarchy, it is important to develop a distinctive measure for Asian American group consciousness. Using a multi-method approach, I provide evidence demonstrating that Asian Americans exhibit strong perceptions of a shared experience related to perceived problems of racial discrimination, racial lumping (the act of disregarding differences in ethnicities of people who share the same racial background), and racial group image, and that these perceptions have political consequences. The analysis in this dissertation is based on 50 focus group interviews and responses from 815 surveys conducted with Asian American adults living in the Southern California area. Based on the analysis, I find that Asian American racial group consciousness is strong at the individual level and increases civic and political participation in organizations, voting in elections, and increasing preferences for Asian American candidates. The results of this dissertation expands knowledge of an understudied group, equipping different individuals and organizations with valuable information on how to launch more effective mobilization campaigns to encourage Asian Americans to join their ranks and support their causes.