This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Hero, R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Multiple Theoretical Traditions in American Politics and Racial Policy Inequality

University of Notre Dame

The American (national) political tradition emphasizes three major strands of thought (Smith 1993, 1997). Grasping the importance, interrelationships, and potential tensions of these multiple traditions is central to understanding American politics, and perhaps especially so concerning issues of racial equality. This article first delineates the philosophical traditions as they are manifested in major research on American state politics. It then examines the consequences of those traditions, especially the two generally viewed as the most prominent in American politics—civic republicanism and liberalism—for several indicators of public policy that directly address racial equality. The evidence considered strongly suggests that research emerging from the two major traditions overlooks an important side of American politics, that concerning racial inequality (ascriptive hierarchy). Also, the argument underscores the importance of proper attention to multiple traditions, generally, and race, specifically, in American (state) politics.

Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 4, 401-408 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/106591290305600402


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. M. Uslaner Trust and Social Bonds: Faith in Others and Policy Outcomes Reconsidered Political Research Quarterly, September 1, 2004; 57(3): 501 - 507. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. E. Hero What's An "Anomaly"? Or, How and How Much Theoretical Traditions Matter Political Research Quarterly, September 1, 2004; 57(3): 509 - 510. [PDF]