Inclusion or illusion? Race cues, political symbols and party politics.

Abstract

This dissertation assesses the conditions under which political elites can reshape individuals' party images. Specifically, I examine whether using racial cues in campaign communication improves perceptions of political parties' ability to handle race relations. While scholars have researched the effects of using racialized symbols in political discourse, most of this research has been devoted to gauging the impact of negative racial imagery as it has been used, for instance, in the 1988 Willie Horton ad or during the welfare debate. As a result, our understanding of the consequences of using race cues in political debates is incomplete. Namely, we do not have a firm grasp on how positive racial imagery influences individuals' political perceptions and evaluations of parties, candidates, and political issues. This dissertation develops a theoretical framework for understanding the effects of using positive racial imagery in the context of party competition during an electoral campaign. Using the 2000 Republican National Convention as a case study, this dissertation examines the impact of racialized campaign communication on perceptions of political parties. My thesis is that the impact of using race cues is contingent on (1) an individual's prior experiences with a political party and (2) the competing frames individuals encounter during the course of the campaign. Using a multi-methodological approach---including experiments involving simulated newspaper articles, a national---sample survey, qualitative interviews and focus groups, and content analysis---I demonstrate that the effect of using positive racial imagery is contingent on the differential experiences with political parties individuals possess as a result of their racial background and is further moderated by the way news media outlets convey the details of a particular campaign to the electorate.