White Identity Politics

Amidst discontent over diversity, racial identity is a lens through which many US white Americans now view the political world.

Ashley Jardina (Author)

9781108468602, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 February 2019

384 pages, 38 b/w illus. 21 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.55 kg

'Jardina's research finds that it isn't just pundits and political scientists who have zeroed in on whiteness as an affirmative political identity: Many white Americans are identifying themselves with their racial group as well … Despite common oversimplifications about who these voters are, Jardina finds little evidence to suggest they are largely members of an economically fragile working class.' David A. Graham, The Atlantic

Amidst discontent over America's growing diversity, many white Americans now view the political world through the lens of a racial identity. Whiteness was once thought to be invisible because of whites' dominant position and ability to claim the mainstream, but today a large portion of whites actively identify with their racial group and support policies and candidates that they view as protecting whites' power and status. In White Identity Politics, Ashley Jardina offers a landmark analysis of emerging patterns of white identity and collective political behavior, drawing on sweeping data. Where past research on whites' racial attitudes emphasized out-group hostility, Jardina brings into focus the significance of in-group identity and favoritism. White Identity Politics shows that disaffected whites are not just found among the working class; they make up a broad proportion of the American public - with profound implications for political behavior and the future of racial conflict in America.

1. The new American minority
2. Making the invisible visible
3. The measurement and meaning of group ties
4. Who identifies as white?
5. The content and contours of whiteness
6. The preservation of whiteness
7. Policies that protect the group
8. A black man in the White House
9. The future of white America.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], Sociology [JHB], Ethnic studies [JFSL], Cultural studies [JFC], 21st century history: from c 2000 - [HBLX], History of the Americas [HBJK]