Latino political participation: Internal diversity and external constraints

Abstract

This dissertation addresses Latino political outcomes using a broadened approach along two dimensions. The first dimension considers contemporary theories of political participation by examining the impact of human capital, political engagement, ethnic identification, and organizational involvement on conventional and unconventional forms of participation. For the second, I extend political opportunity structure and resource mobilization models to make new predictions about how characteristics of the environment in which Latinos are embedded influence participation by Latinos as a group. I test these new predictions using three sets of dependent variables: broad, conventional participation (voting); broad, unconventional participation (e.g., boycotting, attending rallies, protesting); and Latino-oriented, unconventional participation (e.g., attending rallies in support of a Latino issue or concern; contributing money to or volunteering for Latino candidates). Data for the individual-level analysis are drawn from the 1989/90 Latino National Political Survey and the 1999 National Survey on Latinos in America. Using logistic regression, I test predictions about how individual-level factors influence Latinos' participation within the context of the larger political system. I find that resources, especially education, affect the likelihood of conventional and unconventional political participation. As well, organizational affiliation and recruitment increase the likelihood of involvement in conventional and less conventional political acts. The analyses also reveal considerable differences in the likelihood of being politically active among non-Latinos and Latinos as well as between Latino sub-groups. For the contextual analysis, I model the impact of state-level characteristics on electoral and non-electoral forms of political expression. I find some support for resource mobilization and political opportunity theories. Net of individuals' attributes, state-level characteristics affect voting and social activism, suggesting that the receptivity of the political environment influences participation.