Suchergebnisse

To determine if increased black descriptive representation in state legislatures has resulted in greater influence over policy outputs. Methods. I examine state budgets over a 24-year period, comparing changes in spending priorities within budgets. Results. The results demonstrate that increased black representation has resulted in state legislatures giving greater priority to policy areas important to black elected officials. Conclusion. When measured correctly, increased descriptive representation can result in increased substantive representation in large political institutions. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.

We examine minority representation resulting from modified at-large elections (cumulative & limited voting) used in US localities in the 1990s. Hypotheses about the relative proportionality of descriptive representation under various local election systems are presented & tested. We find that CV/LV elections produced descriptive representation of African-Americans at levels similar to those in larger single-member district places, & at levels that exceed those from some small, southern SMD places. Results for Latino representation are more qualified. Our results offer encouragement for those interested in facilitating minority representation without using the acrimonious process of drawing districts on the basis of races. 4 Tables, 2 Figures, 34 References. Adapted from the source document.

Explores awareness of the race of the respondent's state senator. African Americans unaware that their senator is black will receive not symbolic benefits from descriptive representation. Data were gathered by the Florida Survey Research Center in 6 southern state senate districts, of which 3 had black senators. Most blacks (as well as most whites) represented by an African American senator were unaware of that fact. Larger percentages of both groups knew the race of their senator when he or she was white. Respondents who knew their senator's name were more likely also to know the legislator's race. African Americans represented by black senators were significantly less likely to know their legislator's race. (Original abstract - amended)

Looks at substantive versus descriptive minority representation initially via the state of Georgia's plan to redraw voting areas prior to the 2002 elections as a means of redistributing black voters, who typically vote Democrat, throughout numerous voting districts heavily filled with Republican voters. Prior to doing so, preclearance from the Department of Justice was necessary, as laid out in section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, was quickly denounced by John Ashcroft, & ultimately fought in court. From this expands to the wider questions of substantive & descriptive representation generally, & minority electability & congressional legislation of minority-supported issues, including those of Hispanics, between the years 1974 & 2000, including methodology of data collection & analysis. As part of including Hispanics, looks at this minority group both separately from African-Americans, & too, the two groups collectively, to determine points of differentiation, similarity, & of general interest. Proceeds by trying to understand how districts would be redrawn to maximize minority representation substantively & descriptively, while concluding that, amongst other things, blacks now can be elected in the south more easily than before the implementation of the VRA, whereas the same is untrue for Hispanics. Figures, Appendixes, References. J. Fullmer

Objective. Symbolic benefits are among the results attributed to increased black political participation. This research explores awareness of the race of the respondent's state senator, a precondition of receipt of symbolic benefits by the black community. African Americans unaware that their senator is black will receive no symbolic benefits from descriptive representation. Methods. Data were gathered by the Florida Survey Research Center in six southern state senate districts, of which three had black senators. Results. Most blacks -- as well as most whites -- represented by an African American senator were unaware of that fact. Larger percentages of both groups knew the race of their senator when he or she was white than when black. Respondents who knew their senator's name were more likely to also know the legislator's race. African Americans represented by black senators were significantly less likely to know their legislator's race. Conclusions. Black voters' awareness of the name or race of their black senator is in line with other research into voter knowledge about candidates for other offices. To the extent that having black senators provides symbolic benefits, those benefits may go to a thin strata of the politically active. 2 Tables, 24 References. Adapted from the source document.

A majority of recent studies find that black members of Congress are more supportive of blacks' interests than are white members of Congress, even white Democrats. These results are limited, however, exclusively to the contemporary period, as scholars have not studied how black members of Congress behaved during Reconstruction, the first era of blacks' descriptive representation. Although black representatives from this area are typically portrayed as having been responsive to blacks' interests, some recent studies suggest that they often supported whites' interests on issues important to their black constituents. Employing a measure of racial ideology as well as a measure of general ideology developed by Poole & Rosenthal (1997), we investigate the relationship between descriptive & substantive representation in the US House immediately after the Civil War, through the use of descriptive statistics, OLS regression, & forecasting techniques. We find that black Republicans during Reconstruction were more ideologically liberal on both general & racial issues than their white Republican colleagues in the South. These results suggest that the linkage between descriptive & substantive representation for blacks is not merely a recent phenomenon, but rather, has more general applicability across time. 6 Tables, 1 Appendix, 63 References. Adapted from the source document.

Examines whether the increased presence ("descriptive representation") of African-American lawmakers in the MI state legislature has actually made a difference in the operation of this body & in the policies that it has enacted into law, particularly those relevant to black issues. The ability of the Mississippi Black Caucus to "substantively" represent the black community is evaluated, drawing on official government statistics & newspaper accounts to analyze the roll-call voting of black & white Republicans & Democrats, 1980-2000. The proportion of black legislators chairing legislative committees or serving on important policy-relevant committees is also examined, along with their ability to form coalitions with white lawmakers. References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Examines whether the increased presence ("descriptive representation") of African-American lawmakers in the MI state legislature has actually made a difference in the operation of this body & in the policies that it has enacted into law, particularly those relevant to black issues. The ability of the Mississippi Black Caucus to "substantively" represent the black community is evaluated, drawing on official government statistics & newspaper accounts to analyze the roll-call voting of black & white Republicans & Democrats, 1980-2000. The proportion of black legislators chairing legislative committees or serving on important policy-relevant committees is also examined, along with their ability to form coalitions with white lawmakers. References. K. Hyatt Stewart

"While there is a vast literature on women's political interests, there is hardly any consensus about what constitutes "women's interests" or how scholars should approach studying them. Representation can occur in various venues or by various actors, but, due to power imbalances across political groups, it is not always realized in any substantive way. The essays in this book constitute a broad and geographically comparative move toward defining new and unified theoretical orientations to studying representation among women. Representation involves not only getting group members into government, but also articulating group interests and translating those interests into policy. Because competing groups have different policy preferences and act out of self-interest, representation of historically marginalized groups is a contentious, contingent process that is likely to ebb and flow. The book begins with a theoretical positioning of the meaning of women's interests, issues and preferences. It considers the need to add nuance to how we conceive of and study intersectionality and the dangers of stretching the meaning of substantive representation. It then looks at descriptive representation in political parties, high courts, and legislatures, as well as how definitions of "interest" affect who represents women in legislatures and social movements. The book concludes by suggesting testable propositions and avenues for future research to enhance understanding about representation of women and of other historically under-represented groups. Chapters include cases from the United States, Latin America, Western Europe and Africa"--