TY - JOUR
T1 - Race, justice, policing, and the 2016 American presidential election
AU - Drakulich, Kevin
AU - Hagan, John
AU - Johnson, Devon
AU - Wozniak, Kevin H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © Hutchins Center for African and African American Research 2016.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Scholars have long been interested in the intersection of race, crime, justice, and presidential politics, focusing particularly on the southern strategy and the war on crime. A recent string of highly-publicized citizen deaths at the hands of police and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement have brought renewed visibility to this racially-driven intersection, and in particular to issues involving contact with and attitudes toward the police. Using data from the 2016 Pilot Study of the American National Election Studies, this study explores how contact with the criminal justice system and perceptions of police injustice shape political behavior in the modern era, with a specific emphasis on prospective participation and candidate choice in the 2016 presidential election. The results indicate that being stopped by the police - an experience that can feel invasive and unjust - may motivate political participation, while spending time in jail or prison - an experience associated with a marginalization from mainstream civic life - appears to discourage political participation. Perceiving the police as discriminatory also seems to motivate political engagement and participation, though in opposite directions for conservative versus liberal voters. In addition, perceptions of police injustice were related to candidate choice, driving voters away from Donald Trump. Affective feelings about the police were not associated with candidate choice. Perceptions of the police appear to act in part as a proxy for racial resentments, at least among potential voters in the Republican primary. In sum, the intersection of race, justice, and policing remains highly relevant in U.S. politics.
AB - Scholars have long been interested in the intersection of race, crime, justice, and presidential politics, focusing particularly on the southern strategy and the war on crime. A recent string of highly-publicized citizen deaths at the hands of police and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement have brought renewed visibility to this racially-driven intersection, and in particular to issues involving contact with and attitudes toward the police. Using data from the 2016 Pilot Study of the American National Election Studies, this study explores how contact with the criminal justice system and perceptions of police injustice shape political behavior in the modern era, with a specific emphasis on prospective participation and candidate choice in the 2016 presidential election. The results indicate that being stopped by the police - an experience that can feel invasive and unjust - may motivate political participation, while spending time in jail or prison - an experience associated with a marginalization from mainstream civic life - appears to discourage political participation. Perceiving the police as discriminatory also seems to motivate political engagement and participation, though in opposite directions for conservative versus liberal voters. In addition, perceptions of police injustice were related to candidate choice, driving voters away from Donald Trump. Affective feelings about the police were not associated with candidate choice. Perceptions of the police appear to act in part as a proxy for racial resentments, at least among potential voters in the Republican primary. In sum, the intersection of race, justice, and policing remains highly relevant in U.S. politics.
KW - Black Lives Matter
KW - Criminal Justice Contact
KW - Perceived Police Injustice
KW - Policing
KW - Political Participation
KW - Racial Attitudes
KW - Vote Choice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994108656&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84994108656&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S1742058X1600031X
DO - 10.1017/S1742058X1600031X
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84994108656
SN - 1742-058X
VL - 14
SP - 7
EP - 33
JO - Du Bois Review
JF - Du Bois Review
IS - 1
ER -