Collaborative Research: A Multi-city Study of Contextual Influences on Group Relations and Voting Behavior in Urban Mayoral Elections

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This collaborative project is concerned with contextual influences on intergroup relations and political behavior in urban settings. A multi-city survey (accompanied by aggregate city-level data) will assess the relative importance of political, social and economic contexts on individual-level attitude formation and political behavior. The central area of concern pertains to the development of group-based attitudes and their relative salience for local voting behavior. This first of its kind data set will advance scientific knowledge of the sources of intergroup animus, the conditions that give rise to perceived intergroup rivalries, and the political ramifications of intergroup conflict. Scholars interested in the politics of racial and ethnic diversity typically look to cities as the most dynamic places to study individual-level attitudes and political choices in the context of demographic change. The extraordinary institutional, social and economic variance across cities enables contextual research on questions pertaining to the development of intergroup attitudes, public opinion and the instigators of group-based voting behavior. To date, collective knowledge on this subject has been derived from a small number of case studies or national probability samples that do not allow for the multi-level modeling that contextual analyses require. For example, one cannot draw robust conclusions about how local levels of racial diversity affect group-based attitudes and behaviors without a data set that includes substantial variance in city-level racial composition. The research on the political implications of interracial conflict will result in an intellectual advancement over prior research, as the project will analyze the local political behavior of Latinos, Anglos and African Americans under varying levels and types of group-based diversity. Additionally, the project will study the link between individual perceptions of group-based competition with actual voting behavior. Finally, local elections are by far the most frequently occurring form of electoral politics in the U.S., and yet, ironically, they are the electoral forum about which political scientists know the least. This study will allow for more conclusive answers than are now possible about the quality of local democracy and the role that various structural, economic and social contexts have on voters. This project includes several broader impacts. The data produced from this project will have a profound impact on the study of urban politics, group-based politics, the genesis of group-based animosities, and American political behavior generally. Additionally, this project will facilitate substantive and methodological training for graduate and undergraduate students involved, especially students from underrepresented groups and those interested in group relations and group-based politics. On one level this study looks to explain the kinds of group-based tensions that arise under various conditions of diversity. On another level, however, this research will identify institutional, political and contextual factors that can potentially minimize group-based animosities and interracial conflict.