Navigating the Boundaries of Blackness: Congressional Caucuses, U.S. Foreign Policy, and African Affairs.

Abstract

This dissertation develops a new perspective on descriptive and substantive representation based on race by exploring legislative behavior in congressional caucuses that serve black ethnic communities. Furthermore, it attempts to understand how and why congressional caucuses invite more complex analyses of such ethnic cleavages, while also providing insight into how legislators think about, work for, and represent racial and ethnic minority groups across the U.S. Using a mixed-methods approach, I analyze members’ behavior on African congressional caucuses at both the group and individual level using a primary data set involving 120 House members. My quantitative analysis employs an ordered logistic regression model analyzing caucus activity on a set of U.S.-Africa foreign policy issues outlined in the Council of Foreign Relations U.S.-Africa Policy Recommendation Report in 2005; while my qualitative analysis is based on interviews with Africa caucus representatives and African embassy officials. I argue that descriptive representation and substantive representation are virtually inseparable when it comes to race and ethnic-based caucuses. For black ethnic caucuses, even when ethnicity becomes the predominant characteristic by which legislators join caucuses, race still matters when it comes to the legislative efforts of caucus members; the more black members present on a black ethnic caucus, the more active or engaged the caucus tends to be in representing its policy goals and interests. However, while race remains significant at the individual level, I also find that cross-racial representation on black ethnic caucuses is significant; the ability of Whites, Latinos, Asians, and African American members of Congress to work together as a caucus contributes more to caucus activity compared to the Congressional Black Caucus. Additionally, being a member from a state with a large African foreign-born population is also significant, suggesting that members are generally responsive to black ethnic constituencies.