The Obligation Mosaic - (Chicago Studies in American Politics) by Allison P Anoll (Paperback)

About the Book

"Political participation is a costly activity with little clear payoff. And yet, millions of Americans vote, a smaller number donate their time and money to campaigns, and people spend time becoming informed on issues they will have almost no influence over. Among racial groups, African-Americans participate at relatively high levels compared to whites and Asian-Americans. What explains this? Allison Anoll in Community Calls looks at the power of social norms in a community, specifically a civic duty norm, as an explanation for variation in political participation in different racial and ethnic communities. The content of the norm reflects what it means to be part of the group, and the timing of their incorporation into the American political process. Anoll argues that distinct racial histories and continued racial segregation help explain the strength of the norm in African-American communities where people seek to honor the sacrifices of those who fought for political rights and to help those in need because of racial injustice. The civic duty norm in African American communities includes both "the honoring ancestors norm" and to help those in need or "the helping hands norm." For Black Americans, honoring ancestors means claiming political rights once unavailable to the group and helping those in need means correcting injustices of racial discrimination and poverty through political action. In contrast, among Asian-Americans, both norms are present but work very differently in politics. Asian Americans, who have among the lowest rates of political participation, comply with theses norms in distinctly apolitical ways. They honor ancestors through cultural traditions and state that helping those in need must be balanced with other obligations like family economic stability. Anoll bases her study on a series of interviews and an extensive survey exploring the reasons for political participation or the lack thereof. The interviews establish what the norms mean to people and how they differ from one racial and ethnic group to another. The survey measures how far these norms can be found and what their impact might be on attitudes towards political participation as well as actually doing something (or not)"--

Book Synopsis

Many argue that "civic duty" explains why Americans engage in politics, but what does civic duty mean, and does it mean the same thing across communities? Why are people from marginalized social groups often more likely than their more privileged counterparts to participate in high-cost political activities?

In The Obligation Mosaic, Allison P. Anoll shows that the obligations that bring people into the political world--or encourage them to stay away--vary systematically by race in the United States, with broad consequences for representation. Drawing on a rich mix of interviews, surveys, and experiments with Asian, Black, Latino, and White Americans, the book uncovers two common norms that centrally define concepts of obligation: honoring ancestors and helping those in need. Whether these norms lead different groups to politics depends on distinct racial histories and continued patterns of segregation.

Anoll's findings not only help to explain patterns of participation but also provide a window into opportunities for change, suggesting how activists and parties might better mobilize marginalized citizens.

Review Quotes

"It has long been clear that some canonical research on voting behavior is inadequate for explaining the participation of non-white populations. Anoll clarifies this point with her study of the influence of social norms on behavior, showing how their effects vary across ethnoracial groups . . . This work is an impressive analysis that provides valuable new insights into the causes of participation differences across ethnoracial groups." -- "Choice"

"The Obligation Mosaic is a clearly written, thoroughly researched book that provides valuable insight into our understanding of political participation. It offers answers to questions that have challenged the field of political science for decades while breaking new ground in the topics and methods of political participation research."--Katherine J. Cramer, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Every few years, a new book comes along that reorients your understanding of a topic you care about deeply. The Obligation Mosaic is such a book. Two broad features make this imaginative work a must-have for scholars of American political behavior. First, Anoll injects much-needed nuance and range into the study of group norms and how they condition what our collective identities mean and why they matter for mass politics. Second, Anoll breaks new conceptual ground on the connection between group norms and group identities, and what she has to say is relevant to those who study intra- and intergroup politics in the US and beyond. This book is simply remarkable in its approach to building a theory that can apply to multiple racial and ethnic groups while using the same moving parts."--Efrén O. Pérez, University of California, Los Angeles

About the Author

Allison P. Anoll is assistant professor of political science at Vanderbilt University.