Description

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Many argue that “civic duty” explains why Americans engage in politics, but what does civic duty mean, and does it mean the same thing across communities? Why are people from marginalized social groups often more likely than their more privileged counterparts to participate in high-cost political activities? 
 
In The Obligation Mosaic, Allison P. Anoll shows that the obligations that bring people into the political world—or encourage them to stay away—vary systematically by race in the United States, with broad consequences for representation. Drawing on a rich mix of interviews, surveys, and experiments with Asian, Black, Latino, and White Americans, the book uncovers two common norms that centrally define concepts of obligation: honoring ancestors and helping those in need. Whether these norms lead different groups to politics depends on distinct racial histories and continued patterns of segregation. 
 
Anoll’s findings not only help to explain patterns of participation but also provide a window into opportunities for change, suggesting how activists and parties might better mobilize marginalized citizens. 

About the Author

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Allison Anoll is assistant professor of political science at Vanderbilt University.

Praise For…

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“The Obligation Mosaic is a clearly written, thoroughly researched book that provides valuable insight into our understanding of political participation. It offers answers to questions that have challenged the field of political science for decades while breaking new ground in the topics and methods of political participation research.”
— Katherine J. Cramer, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“Every few years, a new book comes along that reorients your understanding of a topic you care about deeply. The Obligation Mosaic is such a book. Two broad features make this imaginative work a must-have for scholars of American political behavior. First, Anoll injects much-needed nuance and range into the study of group norms and how they condition what our collective identities mean and why they matter for mass politics. Second, Anoll breaks new conceptual ground on the connection between group norms and group identities, and what she has to say is relevant to those who study intra- and intergroup politics in the US and beyond. This book is simply remarkable in its approach to building a theory that can apply to multiple racial and ethnic groups while using the same moving parts.”
— Efrén O. Pérez, University of California, Los Angeles

"It has long been clear that some canonical research on voting behavior is inadequate for explaining the participation of non-white populations. Anoll clarifies this point with her study of the influence of social norms on behavior, showing how their effects vary across ethnoracial groups . . . This work is an impressive analysis that provides valuable new insights into the causes of participation differences across ethnoracial groups." 
— Choice