The Role of Ethnic Origin in Asian American Politics
Open Access DepositedAsian Americans, the fastest-growing population in the United States, have traditionally been viewed as a pan-ethnic group with negligible differences among the ethnic subgroups. However, we often overlook the heterogeneity and fail to understand the conditions under which such differences manifest in American politics. What role does ethnic origin play in Asian American politics? In this dissertation, I argue that ethnic origin is crucial in shaping political attitudes and preferences within Asian American communities. Firstly, through an original set of 23 interviews with self-identified Asian Americans, I examine the significance of ethnic origin within this pan-ethnic group. My findings indicate that ethnicity significantly influences electoral preferences, shedding light on factors that have been underrecognized in existing literature. These include transnational ties, news consumption, and political preferences related to foreign policies concerning their home country. Secondly, utilizing an original survey, I investigate how identities and group consciousness at both the ethnic origin and pan-ethnic levels impact the political participation of Chinese and non-Chinese Asian voters, as well as their receptiveness to language appeals. I discover that both ethnic origin consciousness and pan-ethnic consciousness are positively associated with the political engagement, donations, and votes for Chinese candidates among both Chinese and non-Chinese Asian voters, irrespective of language appeals. Thirdly, using the same survey, I analyze the role of ethnic news and ethnic origin identity in misinformation and foreign policy attitudes. My findings reveal that the consumption of ethnic news is linked to misinformed beliefs, leading to divergent foreign policy attitudes between Chinese and non-Chinese Asian voters. These results suggest that ethnic news could amplify the differences between ethnic origin groups. This dissertation offers insights into the significant impact of Asian Americans' connections to both their home and host countries on their political preferences. It emphasizes that numerous cleavages within the pan-ethnic group ought to be considered when analyzing Asian Americans' political behavior.
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