The Participasian Problem: Exploring Low Political Participation Among Asian Americans

Abstract

Objectives. This article seeks to understand low civic and political participation among Asian Americans despite having high socioeconomic status, which is often seen as a major factor in high political engagement. This research looked to apply W.E.B. Du Bois’s theory of double consciousness to Asian Americans, as both the model minority and the perpetual foreigner, as a way of explaining low political participation. Methods. Using a regression model and data from the 2000-2001 Pilot National Asian American Political survey, first generation Asian Americans; institutional discrimination; discrimination due to ethnicity and/or accent; Asians in the media exposure; and Asian American identity to compare perception of foreignness to levels of political participation variables were created. Income, education, religiosity, age, ideology strength, feelings towards affirmative action, and whether the participant lived in Hawaii were also controlled for. Results. This study reveals that institutional discrimination increases likelihood of participation among Asian Americans, as well as income, living in Hawaii, ideology strength, feelings on affirmative action, and age. Conclusions. Quantitative research specific to exploring the foreign ascription to many Asian Americans should be explored to explain other factors in the political behavior of Asian Americans.