Media use and transnational political and civic participation: a case study of Mexicans in the USA

Abstract

Although communication is largely understood as a prerequisite for transnational activity, little research explores exactly how transnational communities use media and what the implications of media use are for transnational civic and political participation. Research from communication studies suggests that media can affect civic and political participation in various, sometimes contradictory, ways. In an effort to merge literature from transnational and communication studies, in this study I focus on the case of Mexicans in the USA, offering secondary analyses of two datasets concerning their communication habits and civic and political participation in Mexico. Results suggest differential effects on participation based on preferences for certain media and pre-existing attitudes.

External Voting Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Influence of Remittances, Globalization, and Partisan Control

“…Given the increasing financial effects of remittances in migrants’ country of origin (Goodman & Hiskey, ; Hickerson, ; Levitt, ; Portes et al, ), it is plausible that political leaders have started to pay attention to the interests of emigrants living abroad. To be sure, a rich, primarily qualitative literature has examined the connection between remittance flows and different facets of “diaspora” politics in the migrants’ countries of origin (Barry, ; Bauböck, ; Cano & Délano, ; Escobar, ; Fitzgerald, ; Hickerson, ; Itzigsohn, ; Itzigsohn & Villacrés, ; Itzigsohn et al, ; Joppke, ; Margheritis, ; Mata‐Codesal, ; Ratha, ; Sejersen, ; Tager, ; Wucker, ). This literature has pointed to the effects of remittances not only on national politics but also on subnational politics (Levitt & De la Dehesa, , p. 599).…”

Untitled

“…They enhance migrants' possibilities for taking an active part in their home country's politics, engage in political activities that span borders and cultures (Kissau, 2012), and engage in social and political activism. Some examples on the topics that scholars have discussed include online representations of identity politics discourses (Chopra, 2006), online politics and the role of online forums in the spread of longdistance nationalism (Conversi, 2012;Enteen, 2006;Therwath, 2012), the impact of new media in transnational civic and political participation (Hickerson, 2013;Marat, 2016;Ong & Cabañes, 2011), and the construction of nationhood (Bernal, 2006). For example, Ding (2008) elaborated on how the increasing use of ICTs by the Chinese diaspora plays a vital role in Chinese politics and China's efforts at building a positive national image.…”

Revisiting the immigrant press

“…He notes, 'the curious convergence in academic and popular discourse regarding the attachment (or lack thereof) of immigrants to their host societies' (p. 974), all while 'we neglect to explain the complex negotiations of power and identity implicated in the definition of social membership and assimilability across historical and geographical contexts' (p. 975). Relatedly, Hickerson (2013) empirically tested the transnational assumption that access to transnational media naturally leads to political participation in politics in countries of origin. The results were underwhelming in that very few immigrants and migrants participated in politics in the homeland and differences in participation were largely a factor of personal beliefs and attitudes rather than access to information.…”