Ethnic Diversity, Inter-Ethnic Relations, and Mass Political Behavior

Abstract

A number of Sociologists and Political Scientists have used what is called the Power Theory to explain political relationships between ethnic groups. Political Science research using this theory concludes that the more politically threatened the majority ethnic group feels, the more politically active its group members are. Yet there are reasons to suspect that existing research has not accurately tested Power Theory propositions. In this study, I offer new empirical tests of Power Theory propositions about ethnic majority political behavior that are designed to avoid the limitations of past research. My two research questions involve the political participation and ideology of the majority group members under varying degrees of political threat. While the predicted relationships between the variables were not as strong as in the past research, some of the basic hypotheses of the Power Theory were supported in this study.