Research On American Racial Politics Since The 1960s

Since the founding of the United States of America,the issue of race has always been evolving along with American history.In recent years,the polarization of American politics is increasingly accompanied with its racialization.There have been plenty of research on race relations in America.In general,theories of racial conflict and cooperation can be divided into two categories.The first category of theories,which may be called individual-oriented theories,consider interracial animosity a product of individual attitudes.The second category,which may be called group-oriented theories,treat group categories,group interests and identities as the overwhelming determinant of group attitudes and behavior.Past researches in this field have one common shortcoming: almost all of them assume the attitudes of white Americans towards blacks and other minorities to be a static independent variable,which presumably will stay relatively stable once they come into being in the process of socialization,and interact with other socio-political factors to produce natural reaction.Therefore,past research fails to consider the uncertainties caused by racial politics in America,in that the racial resentments and identities of white people,as ordinary voters,are shaped by other factors in the political process.Based on three theoretical hypotheses,this thesis seeks to conduct an empirical study of racial politics in America since the civil rights movement.It investigates the process by which political participants activate and exploit voters’ racial attitudes and policy preferences to maximize their own political gains.I categorize the growth of American racial politics since the 1960 s,in a chronological order,roughly into three periods: the period of its formation from the civil rights movement to the year 1980,the period of its maturity from 1980 to 2000,and the period of its preeminence from the year 2000 forward.I study the major figures and cases of racial politics in each period,with an emphasis on the motivation and behavior of political actors,in order to prove that these actors seek to obtain their desired political results through strategies of racial appeals,demagoguery or evasion which activate and manipulate voters’ racial preferences.In particular,conservatives instigate white voters’ fierce opposition to liberal government and policies with “dog whistle” political strategies,so as to realize stealthily their own agenda in favor of big business and the rich;liberals,in response,either emulate “dog whistle” politics to get votes or try to avoid the issue of race in case white opposition becomes even greater.The attitudes of white Americans towards minorities can be exploited and manipulated by various players in American politics and can be activated and deployed into certain issue fields and play an enlarged role.The reason why American conservatives cannot easily give up on “dog whistle” politics is that race has become an integral part of modern conservatism.Through the continued efforts of American conservatives,the Republican Party has become the White Man’s Party.The white identity of conservatism has fundamentally shaped the way through which conservatives look at the world and the American society.Liberal activists and organizations,on the other hand,must face the issue of race directly and explain to voters clearly that conservatives have fanned the flame of racial resentment and shifted the blame of the consequences of conservative policies,thus harming the interests of the middle class and the poor;and that conservative racial politics are the real culprit of the retreat of modern liberal policies and the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor.