Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Theory of Latino Partisanship: From Social to Political Identity

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Latino Identity and Political Attitudes

  • 387 Accesses

Abstract

Through an exploration of the social and ethnic identity literatures in social psychology and comparative politics, the author arrives at a theory of Latino partisanship based on panethnic identity. Latinos, as do most people, possess a multiplicity of social identities, which differ in their political relevance. The author proposes that three relevant identities for Latinos are not mutually exclusive, but in fact, coexist among Latinos: identification with their home country, identification as a Latino (panethnic identity), and identification as American. Dual and multiple identities as well as identity complexity theories are used to explain that having both subgroup (country of origin) and superordinate (panethnic) identities allows Latinos to improve their self-worth as well as the value of the group in the multicultural US political system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Abrajano, Marisa A., and Michael Alvarez. 2010. New Faces, New Voices. The Hispanic Electorate in America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Abrajano, Marisa A., and Zoltan Hajnal. 2015. White Backlash: Immigration, Race, and American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Barreto, Matt A. 2007. ¡Sí se puede! Latino Candidates and the Mobilization of Latino Voters. American Political Science Review 101(3): 425–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barreto, Matt A. 2010. Ethnic Cues, the Role of Shared Ethnicity in Latino Poitical Participation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Barreto, Matt A., and Francisco I. Pedraza. 2009. The Renewal and Persistence of Group Identification in American Politics. Electoral Studies 28: 595–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barreto, Matt A., Luis R. Fraga, Sylvia Manzano, Valerie Martínez-Ebers, and Gary M. Segura. 2008. “Should They Dance with the One Who Brung ‘Em?” Latinos and the 2008 Presidential Election. PS: Political Science & Politics 41(04): 753–760.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beltrán, Cristina. 2010. The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowler, Shaun, P. Nicholson, P. Stephen, and Gary M. Segura. 2006. Earthquakes and Aftershocks: Race, Direct Democracy, and Partisan Change. American Journal of Political Science 50: 146–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, Marilynn B. 1999. Multiple Identities and Identity Transition: Implications for Hong Kong. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 23(2): 187–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, Marilynn B 2007. The Importance of Being “We”: Human Nature and Intergroup Relations. American Psychologist 62(8): 728–738.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cain, B.E., D.R. Kiewiet, and C.J. Uhlaner. 1991. The Acquisition of Partisanship by Latinos and Asian Americans. American Journal of Political Science 35: 390–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, Angus, Phillip E. Converse, Warren E. Miller, and Donald E. Stokes. 1960. The American Voter. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmines, Edward, and James A. Stimson. 1989. Issue Evolution: Race and the Transformation of American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carsey, T.M., and G.C. Layman. 2006. Changing Sides or Changing Minds? Party Identification and Policy Preferences in the American Electorate. American Journal of Political Science 50: 464–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra, Kanchan. 2006. What is Ethnic Identity and Does it Matter? Annual Review of Political Science 9(1): 397–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2012. Constructivist Theories of Ethnic Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chong, Dennis, and Dukhong Kim. 2006. The Experiences and Effects of Economic Status among Racial and Ethnic Minorities. The American Political Science Review 100(3): 335–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conover, Pamela J. 1984. The Influence of Group Identifications on Political Perception and Evaluation. The Journal of Politics 46(3): 760–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conover, Pamela J., and Stanley Feldman. 1984. How People Organize the Political World: A Schematic Model. American Journal of Political Science 28(1): 95–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Converse, Phillip E. 1964. The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics. In Ideology and Discontent, ed. David E. Apter, 212–242. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, Michael C. 1994. Behind the Mule Race and Class in African American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • de la Garza, R.O., and J. Cortina. 2007. Are Latinos Republicans But Just Don’t Know It?: The Latino Vote in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections. American Politics Research 35(2): 202–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellemers, Naomi, Russell Spears, and Bertjan Doosje. 2002. Self and Social Identity. Annual Review of Psychology 53(1): 161–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espiritu, Yen L. 1992. Asian American Panethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espiritu, Yen L. 1994. The Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Class; The Multiple Identities of Second Generation Filipinos. Identities 1: 249–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espuelas, Fernanco. 2015, January 17. Republicans Say Goodbye to Latino Voters. Huff Post Politics, The Blog. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fernando-espuelas/republicans-say-goodbye-t_b_6494496.html.

  • Ethier, K.A., and K. Deaux. 1994. Negotiation Social Identity When Contexts Change: Maintaining Identification and Responding to Threat. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67: 243–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraga, Luis R., J.A. García, R.E. Hero, M. Jones-Correa, V.M. Ebers, and G. Segura. 2010. Latino Lives in América: Making it Home. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaertner, Samuel L., and John F. Dovidio. 2000. Reducing Intergroup Bias: The Common Ingroup Identity Model. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press of Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • García, John A 2003. Latino Politics in America: Community, Culture and Interests. Lahman, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia, John A. 2010. Understanding Multiple Social Identities among Latinos: Social-Cultural Connections to Latino Pan-ethnic Identity. Paper presented at the Western Political Science Association meeting, San Francisco, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • García Bedolla, Lisa. 2003. The Identity Paradox: Latino Language, Politics and Selective Dissociation. Latino Studies 1(2): 264–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2005. Fluid Borders: Hispanic Power, Identity and Politics in Los Angeles. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gay, Claudine. 2004. Putting Race in Context: Identifying the Environmental Determinants of Black Racial Attitudes. American Political Science Review 98(4).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2006. Seeing Difference: The Effect of Economic Disparity on Black Attitudes Toward Latinos. American Journal of Political Science 50: 982–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, Troy, and Christopher Hare. 2012. Do Latino Christians and Seculars Fit the Culture War Profile? Latino Religiosity and Political Behavior. Politics and Religion 5: 53–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, Daniel. 2007. Stumbling on Happiness. New York City, NY: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gimpel, James G. and Kauffman, K. 2001 Impossible Dream or Distant Reality? Republican Efforts to Attract Latino Voters. Backgrounder, Center for Immigration Studies. Available online at: http://cis.org/RepublicanEffortAttractLatinoVoters

  • González, Roberto, and Rupert Brown. 2003. Generalization of Positive Attitude as a Function of Subgroup and Superordinate Group Identifications in Intergroup Contact. European Journal of Social Psychology 33: 195–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goren, Paul, Christopher M. Federico, and Miki Caul Kittilson. 2009. Source Cues, Partisan Identities, and Political Value Expression. American Journal of Political Science 53(4): 805–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, Donald P., Bradley Palmquist, and Eric Schickler. 2002. Partisan Hearts and Minds: Political Parties and the Social Identities of Voters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hajnal, Zoltan L., and Taeku Lee. 2010. Race, Immigration, and (Non) Partisanship in America (online manuscript). http://weber.ucsd.edu/~zhajnal/page4/page4.html. Accessed 4 Aug 2010.

  • ———. 2011. Why Americans Don’t Join the Party: Race, Immigration, and the Failure (of Political Parties) to Engage the Electorate. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornsey, Matthew J., and Michael A. Hogg. 2000. Subgroup Relations: A Comparison of Mutual Intergroup Differentiation and Common Ingroup Identity Models of Prejudice Reduction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26(2): 242–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huddy, Leonie. 2001. From Social to Political Identity: A Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory. Political Psychology 22: 127–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huddy, Leonie, and S. Virtanen. 1995. Subgroup Differentiation and Subgroup Bias Among Latinos as a Function of Familiarity and Positive Distinctiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68(1): 97–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, Melinda S. 2011. Priming the Sleeping Giant: The Dynamics of Latino Political Identity and Vote Choice. Political Psychology 32(4): 691–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones-Correa, Michael. 2007. Fuzzy Distinctions and Blurred Boundaries: Transnational, Immigrant and Ethnic Politics. In Latino Politics: Identity, Mobilization and Representation, eds. Rodolfo Espino, David Leal, and Kenneth Meier, 44–60. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones-Correa, Michael, and David Leal. 1996. Becoming ‘Hispanic”: Secondary Panethnic Identification Among Latin-American-Origin Populations in the United States. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 18(2): 214–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Junn, Jane, and Natalie Masuoka. 2008a. Asian American Identity: Shared Racial Status and Political Context. Perspectives on Politics 6(4): 729–740.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Junn, Jane, and Natalie Masuoka. 2013. The Politics of Belonging: Race, Public Opinion and Immigration. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klandermans, Bert. 2013. Dual Identity. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements. Retrieved online. doi:10.1002/9780470674871.wbespm076.

  • Layman, Geoffrey C 2001. The Great Divide: Religious and Cultural Conflict in American Party Politics. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leal, David L., S.A. Nuño, J. Lee, and R.O. de la Garza. 2008. Latinos, Immigration, and the 2006 Midterm Elections. Political Science and Politics 41: 309–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Taeku. 2004. Pan-Ethnic Identity, Linked Fate, and the Political Significance of “Asian American.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Public Opinion Research, Tucson, AZ.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2008. Race, Immigration, and the Identity-to-Politics Link. Annual Review of Political Science 11: 457–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Taeku, and Efrén O. Pérez. 2014. The Persistent Connection Between Language-of Interview and Latino Political Opinion. Political Behavior 36(2): 401–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis-Beck, Michael S., William G. Jacoby, Hemult Norpoth, and Herbert F. Weisberg. 2008. The American Voter Revisited. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, D., and Y.L. Espiritu. 1990. Panethnicity in the United States: A Theoretical Framework. Ethnic and Racial Studies 13(2): 198–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Márquez, Benjamin. 2008. Latino Identity Politics Research: Problems and Opportunities. In Latino Politics: Identity, Mobilization, and Representation, ed. Rodolfo Espino, David L. Leal, and Kenneth J. Meier. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masuoka, Natalie. 2006. Together they Become One: Examining the Predictors of Panethnic Group Consciousness Among Asian Americans and Latinos. Social Science Quarterly 87: 991–1011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masuoka, Natalie. 2008. Defining the Group: Latino Identity and Political Participation. American Politics Research 36(1): 33–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClain, Paula D., J.D. Johnson Carew, E. Walton Jr., and C.S. Watts. 2009. Group Membership, Group Identity, and Group Consciousness: Measures of Racial Identity in American Politics? Annual Review of Political Science 12: 471–485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, Brian D., and Stella M. Rouse. 2013. Studies of Faith: Religious Foundations of Political Attitudes Among African Americans, Latinos, and Whites. American Journal of Political Science 57(1): 218–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pantoja, Adrian D. 2010. The Effects of Being a Born-Again Christian on Latino Socio-Political Attitudes. Journal of Religion and Society 12. Available at: http://moses.creighton.edu/jrs/2010/2010-16.pdf

  • Pérez, Efrén O. 2014. Xenophobic Rhetoric and Its Political Effects on Immigrants and Their Co-Ethnics. American Journal of Political Science, Early View 59(3): 549–564. doi:10.1111/ajps.12131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, Alejandro, Cristina Escobar, and Renelinda Arana. 2009. Divided or Convergent Loyalties?: The Political Incorporation Process of Latin American Immigrants in the United States. International Journal of Comparative Sociology 50: 103–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Posner, Daniel N. 2005. Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reicher, Stephen. 2004. The Context of Social Identity: Domination, Resistance, and Change. Political Psychology 25(6): 921–945.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roccas, Sonia, and Marilynn B. Brewer. 2002. Social Identity Complexity. Personality and Social Psychology Review 6(2): 88–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez, Gabriel R. 2006. The Role of Group Consciousness in Latino Public Opinion. Political Research Quarterly 59: 435–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez, Gabriel R., and Edward D. Vargas. 2016. Taking a Closer Look at Group Identity: The Link between Theory and Measurement of Group Consciousness and Linked Fate. Political Research Quarterly, doi:10.1177/1065912915624571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schildkraut, Deborah J. 2005. The Rise and Fall of Political Engagement among Latinos: The Role of Identity and Perceptions of Discrimination. Political Behavior 27: 285–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, Maya, and Omar Wasow. (2014). Race as a ‘Bundle of Sticks’: Designs that Estimate Effects of Seemingly Immutable Characteristics. http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/msen/files/race_causality.pdf?m=1412546675. Accessed 30 Jan 2016.

  • Shaw, Daron, Rodolfo O. de la Garza, and Jongho Lee. 2000. Examining Latino Turnout in 1996: A Three States, Validated Survey Approach. American Journal of Political Science 44(2): 338–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, Bernd, and Bert Klandermans. 2001. Politicized Collective Identity: A Social Psychological Analysis. American Psychologist 56: 319–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soto, DeFrancesco, M. Victoria, and Jennifer L. Merolla. 2006. Vota por tu Futuro: Partisan Mobilization of Latino Voters in the 2000 Presidential Election. Political Behavior 28(4): 285–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stokes, Atiya Kai. 2003. Latino Group Consciousness and Political Participation. American Politics Research 31: 361–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoll, David. 1993. Introduction: Rethinking Protestantism in Latin America. In Rethinking Protestantism in Latin America, eds. Virginia Garrard-Burnett and David Stoll. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, Henri, and John C. Turner. 1986. The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. In Psychology of Intergroup Relations, eds. S. Worchel and W.G. Austin, 7–24. Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tesler, Michael, and David O. Sears. 2010. Obama’s Race: The 2008 Election and the Dream of a Post-Racial America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tooby, John, and Leda Cosmides. 1992. The Psychological Foundations of Culture. In The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture, ed. J.H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, and J. Tooby, 19–136. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Transue, John E. 2007. Identity Salience, Identity Acceptance, and Racial Policy Attitudes: American National Identity as a Uniting Force. American Journal of Political Science 51(1): 78–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, John C., Michael A. Hogg, Penelope J. Oakes, Stephen D. Reicher, and Margaret S. Wetherell. 1987. Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory. New York: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valenzuela, Ali A. 2010. Integrating Institutions and the Political Determinants of American Latino Identity. American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Zomeren, Martijn, Colin Wayne Leach, and Russell Spears. 2010. Does Group Efficacy Increase Group Identification? Resolving Their Paradoxical Relationship. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46: 1055–1106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voss, Kim, and Irene Bloemraad. 2011. Rallying for Immigrant Rights. The Fight for Inclusion in 21st Century America. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzel, Michael, Amélie Mummendey, and Steve Waldzus. 2007. Superordinate Identities and Intergroup Conflict: The Ingroup Projection Model. European Review of Social Psychology 18(1): 331–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, Catherine. 2008. The Politics of Latino Faith: Religion, Identity, and Urban Community. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas, USA

    Angel Saavedra Cisneros

Authors
  1. Angel Saavedra Cisneros
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Appendix

Appendix

figure a
figure b
figure c
figure d

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Saavedra Cisneros, A. (2017). A Theory of Latino Partisanship: From Social to Political Identity. In: Latino Identity and Political Attitudes. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33969-6_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation