Unpacking the Suitcase: Premigratory Experiences with Ethnic Violence and Descriptive Representation Among Asian Americans

Abstract

ObjectiveDo premigratory experiences shape the perceived need for racial and/or ethnic political representation? Although there is much literature that has examined whether a “pan‐ethnic” Asian‐American identity is emerging, we test the effects of premigration experiences with ethnic violence on the perceived need for descriptive representation among Asian Americans.MethodsUsing the 2016 National Asian American Pre‐Election Survey, in combination with comparative cross‐national data, we explore the relationship between premigration experiences and the perceived need for racial and ethnic representation.ResultsUsing both multilevel logit and a Heckman selection analyses, we find that premigratory experiences with violence significantly reduce the assessment that racial and ethnic representation is important.ConclusionThis suggests that premigratory experiences with ethnic violence reduce individual assessments that racial and ethnic representation is important. Individuals who emigrated from countries that experienced ethnic violence eschew descriptive representation in understanding politics in the United States.