Description:

Please join the American Politics Workshop as they host Tanika Raychaudhuri, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston, for a presentation titled, "From Political Learning to Partisan Leanings: The Social Roots of Asian American Partisanship".

ABSTRACT: From Political Learning to Partisan Leanings explains one of the most transformative but puzzling trends in contemporary American politics, the increasingly strong support for the Democratic Party among Asian Americans, a diverse pan-ethnic constituency. It does so by analyzing how Asian Americans — the fastest growing racial group in the United States — learn about American politics and develop partisan views. In contrast to existing theories rooted in social exclusion and familial influence, the book advances a new explanation that emphasizes the crucial role of peer influence, a theory that I call “social transmission.” The theory of social transmission contends that Asian Americans acquire partisan views through the communication of political cues from peers in their local communities. Drawing on a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence, including national surveys of Asian Americans, in-depth interviews with Asian American citizens, a panel survey of college students, and original survey experiments, I test social transmission against alternative explanations and show that peers shape Asian Americans’ partisan preferences, leading to strong support for the Democratic Party in recent elections. Where possible, I also consider the extent to which these explanations apply across diverse national origin subgroups within the Asian American community. By explaining the puzzle of Asian Americans’ partisan preferences and identifying a new pathway of political learning among minority groups, From Political Learning to Partisan Leanings has important implications for understanding political behavior in immigrant communities and the future of American electoral politics.

Tanika Raychaudhuri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston. She received her PhD from the Department of Politics at Princeton University in 2019 and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research is in American politics with a focus on the intersection of immigration, race, and inequality. One strand of her work explores research, she explores questions about race, public opinion, and public policy. Her research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including American Politics Research; Electoral Studies; The Journal of Politics; Perspectives on Politics; Politics, Groups, and Identities; and PS: Political Science & Politics.

For a copy of the reading, please email Caroline Pippert.