Membership, Not Belonging: Triggers of Non-belonging for Marginalized Americans

• In Event: How Americans See Each Other across Lines of Division

Abstract

American political discourse is rife with identity-engaging cues and discussions. Politicians across the political spectrum appeal to identity politics in attempts to make inclusive appeals as well as to stoke fear of the“other”. If members of marginalized groups doubt that their voices are welcome in American politics, this doubt might be confirmed by a variety of policies, institutions, and signals. Belonging uncertainty has been developed in other fields, primarily social psychology, but my theory of political belonging uncertainty makes at least one subtle deviation from earlier work in other fields: by definition, Americans “belong” in all aspects of US politics. But one may acknowledge that they have the right to participate without feeling they are welcome in the political life of the nation. I leverage survey questions from the Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey to argue that politics can trigger non-belonging for some groups in America more than others. I also discuss the implications for political behavior of a sense of political belonging uncertainty.

Author

• Kristy Pathakis, Texas A&M University