Identity Politics and Local Political Culture

Abstract

Using the Social Capital Benchmark Survey (SCBS) data sets, the authors conducted a multilevel comparative study of identity politics and political culture in the United States and 30 urban communities. Analysis showed that gender, race, class, and religion predict political ideology, electoral behavior, and political protest in the national sample. Replications in the community samples, however, revealed significant differences in the patterns of relationships among those variables. Some patterns deviated markedly from the national norm, particularly with respect to race as a predictor of political protest. Using an index of new political culture, the authors show that “place matters” as a contextual influence on the strength and direction of relationships between social identity (particularly race and religion) and political outcomes.

Citizenship Norms in Eastern Europe

“…It is related to Durkheim’s (1912) argument that rituals of religion generate group cohesion and solidarity, intensifying the links between citizens and their society. Second, active involvement in a religious faith enhances general organizational knowledge and skills (Deleon and Naff 2004). In particular scholars of political sociology emphasize that religion provides an important source of social capital and democratic skills that facilitate democratic participation (Verba et al 1995).…”

Can Culture Explain Culture?

“…Recent works on the role of culture in politics and on policies have discussed the influence of cultural change related to the emergence of a New Political Culture (Clark 2004a;Clark et al 2002;Clark and Hoffmann-Martinot 1998;Clark and Inglehart 1998;Deleon and Naff 2004;Florida , 2005Rosdil 2010;Sharp 2005). This approach to urban and regional studies emphasizes the cultural changes occurring in the postindustrial cities and the differences these new trends create in the way people work and live.…”

“…This emphasize on cultural change has led researchers to examine how this phenomenon can affect political attitudes, policy outcomes, and even lead to economic growth (Clark 2004a;Deleon and Naff 2004;Putnam 1993Putnam , 2000Rosdil 2010). and Putnam (1993Putnam ( , 2000 claim that culture influences economic growth and development directly.…”

“…Despite the severe criticism against the argument that certain cultural characteristics are linked to economic growth, other scholars have continued to explore the link between culture and politics and policy with success. These efforts have showed that cultural variables are able to contribute to explaining political attitudes and urban policy making (Deleon and Naff 2004;Rosdil 2010). Deleon and Naff (2004) use survey data to explore how different political cultures mediate the relationship between types of identities and political outcomes (Deleon and Naff 2004).…”

“…This article discusses three such attempts and tries to combine them into a new model that is assumed to be suitable for the Norwegian case. The models of Sharp (2005) and Deleon and Naff (2004) draw on Clark and Hoffmann-Martinot's (1998) work. Rosdil's (2010) model is similar but also includes variables measuring economic security and political institutions.…”