Too Much Knowledge, Too Little Power: An Assessment of Political Knowledge in Highly Policed Communities

No Justice, No Peace: Political Science Perspectives on the American Carceral State

“…A key failing of much of the political science research on the criminal legal system is also a key failing of most policy analyses of and recommendations for that same system: a lack of attention to the experiences and perspectives of those most frequently in contact with the system, members of RCS communities. Scholars have shown that the criminal legal system is the primary arm of the state with which these individuals have contact, and that individuals are at once both overly surveilled and under-protected (Weaver and Lerman 2010; Weaver, Prowse, and Piston 2019; Weaver et al 2020). It is impossible to understand the impact of crime and punishment without the input of RCS people.…”

“…Members of over-policed communities understand that they are both over-policed and under-protected (Prowse, Weaver, and Meares 2019). The knowledge held by RCS communities accrues through interactions with police, which convey dissonance between how the law should function and how it functions in reality (Weaver, Prowse, and Piston 2019). This specific knowledge leads people to articulate demands for a radical “revision of the state as operating in antidemocratic ways as a matter of unofficial policy in their neighborhoods,” (Weaver, Prowse, and Piston 2019, 1164).…”

“…The knowledge held by RCS communities accrues through interactions with police, which convey dissonance between how the law should function and how it functions in reality (Weaver, Prowse, and Piston 2019). This specific knowledge leads people to articulate demands for a radical “revision of the state as operating in antidemocratic ways as a matter of unofficial policy in their neighborhoods,” (Weaver, Prowse, and Piston 2019, 1164). Finally, the article featured in this volume highlights that the political consciousness held by members of RCS communities directs them towards withdrawing from the state and investing in developing autonomy within their communities (Weaver et al this volume).…”

Threats Shift Immigrants' Attention from Their Home Country to Host Society: Evidence from the September 11 Terrorist Attacks

“…Marginalizing conditions make it difficult for people to actively seek political information. Recent studies (Cohen andLuttig, 2019, Weaver, Prowse andPiston, 2019), however, show that this portrayal misses the dual structure of political knowledge among marginalized populations. Political knowledge concerns organized information on how one's government works.…”

“…However, they are well informed about how the government oppresses them because that information is crucial for their daily survival and resilience. For instance, black residents of heavily policed neighborhoods have detailed information and understanding of policing (Weaver, Prowse and Piston, 2019). In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Arabs and South Asians became subject to U.S. state surveillance and negative media reporting due to their associations with Muslims (Chandrasekhar, 2003, Cainkar and Maira, 2005, Yazdiha, 2014.…”