The electoral behaviour of racialized voters and politicians has captured little attention outside the United States. Identities and Interests offers a new perspective on the role of racial and ethnic identities in Canadian elections. Combining survey data experiments with candidate and census data, Randy Besco demonstrates that self-identification matters far more than self-interest, ideology, or policy. The largest minority groups - Chinese and South Asian Canadians - tend to support candidates of their own ethnicity. Yet inter-minority affinity voting also reveals the potential for "rainbow coalitions" and how minorities themselves think in terms of a white/non-white divide. Besco distinguishes pure in-group bias from the positive effects stemming from affinity voting and calls for a more nuanced evaluation of the role of identity in politics. Overall, his findings have major implications for social movements, issue opinions, fundraising, and political leadership races. Identities and Interests gets to the heart of our understanding of democracy and citizenship.

About the Author
Randy Besco is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto. His research has been published in Party Politics and the Canadian Journal of Political Science.


Book Information
ISBN 9780774838931
Author Randy Besco
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint University of British Columbia Press
Publisher University of British Columbia Press
Weight(grams) 360g