1. The Concept and Correlates of Political Representation: A Multicultural and Subnational View.
- Author
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Pei-te Lien, Pinderhughes, Dianne M., Hardy-Fanta, Carol, Sierra, Christine M., and Frasure, Lorrie A.
- Subjects
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MINORITY politicians , *REPRESENTATIVE government , *POLITICAL leadership , *MULTICULTURALISM , *PEOPLE of color - Abstract
This paper represents a preliminary investigation of the contours and correlates of representational roles as perceived by elected officials of color serving at state and local levels nationwide. The research questions we seek to answer are: How do elected officials of color view their representational role? Do Black, Latino, Asian, and American Indian officials differ in their representational role orientations? What other factors may influence (or be associated with) their orientation toward a representational role? In what ways are elected officials who hold the trustee view different from those who hold the delegate view? And, how do Blacks and Latinos differ in the correlates of these two prevailing views of representation? Our data, the Gender and Multicultural Leadership Survey, focus on individuals serving at state and local levels of government where nine out of ten of nonwhite elected officials are located. With the increasing diversity in the nation's population and political leadership, this research aims to broaden understanding of the meanings of democratic representation in a multicultural society by studying the attitudes of female and male elected officials of African, Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian origin. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009