Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4hhp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T12:12:02.343Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Congressional Representation of Muslim-American Constituents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

Shane Martin
Shane Martin*
Affiliation:
Dublin City University
*
Address correspondence and reprint request to: Shane Martin, School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland. E-mail: shane.martin@dcu.ie
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Legislators' responsiveness to constituency preferences is an accepted cornerstone of American representative democracy. Focusing on key domestic anti-terrorism votes during the 109th Congress, this study explores whether or not the presence of Muslim-Americans in a district influenced House members' roll-call behavior. We apply and test two competing theories of representation: the congruence theory and the minority backlash hypothesis. Using original data on Muslim-American constituency size, our analysis indicates little evidence of a representational backlash and some evidence that both Democratic and Republican members are positively responsive in their roll-call behavior to the presence of Muslim voters in their districts.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 2 , Special Issue 2: Muslims in America , August 2009 , pp. 230 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ajrouch, Kristine J., and Jamal, Amaney. 2007. “Assimilating to a White Identity: The Case of Arab Americans.” International Migration Review 41:860–879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayers, John W. 2007. “Changing Sides: 9/11 and the American Muslim Voter.” Review of Religious Research 49:187–198.Google Scholar
Ayers, John W., and Hofstetter, C. Richard. 2008. “American Muslim Political Participation Following 9/11: Religious Belief, Political Resources, Social Structures, and Political Awareness.” Politics and Religion 1:3–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishin, Benjamin G. 2000. “Constituency Influence in Congress: Does Subconstituency Matter?” Legislative Studies Quarterly 25:389–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burden, Barry C. 2007. Personal Roots of Representation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cain, Bruce, Ferejohn, John, and Fiorina, Morris. 1987. The Personal Vote: Constituency Service and Electoral Independence. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cainkar, Louise. 2007 “Thinking Outside the Box.” In From Invisible Citizens to Visible Subjects: Arab Americans and Race Before and After 9–11, eds. Jamal, Amaney, and Naber, Nadine. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
Carey, John M. 2007. “Competing Principals, Political Institutions, and Party Unity in Legislative Voting.” American Journal of Political Science 51:92–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, John M., and Soberg Shugart, Matthew. 1995. “Incentives to Cultivate a Personal Vote: A Rank Ordering of Electoral Formulas.” Electoral Studies 14:417–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cho, Wendy K. Tam, Gimpel, James G., and Wu, Tony. 2006. “Clarifying the Role of SES in Political Participation: Policy Threat and Arab American Mobilization.” The Journal of Politics 68:977–991.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clinton, Joshua D. 2006 “Representation in Congress: Constituents and Roll Calls in the 106th House.” Journal of Politics 68:397–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Council on American-Islamic Relations. 2006a. American Muslim Voters: A Demographic Profile and Survey of Attitudes. Washington, DC: CAIR Research Center.Google Scholar
Council on American-Islamic Relations. 2006b. American Public Opinion About Islam And Muslims. Washington, DC: CAIR Research Center.Google Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 2005 Setting the Agenda: Responsible Party Government in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canes-Wrone, Brandice, Brady, David W., and Cogan, John F.. 2002. “Out of Step, Out of Office: Electoral Accountability and House Members' Voting.” American Political Science Review 96:127–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. 1978. Home Style: House Members in Their Districts. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Finke, Roger, and Scheitle, Christopher. 2005. “Accounting for the Uncounted: Computing Correctives for the 2000 REMS Data.” Review of Religious Research 47:5–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, John C., and Guth, James L.. 1991. “Religion, Representatives, and Roll Calls.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 16:571–584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, John D., and Newman, Brian. 2007. “The Unequal Representation of Latinos and Whites.” The Journal of Politics 69:1032–1046.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grossback, Lawrence J., Peterson, David A. M., and Stimson, James A.. 2005. “Comparing Competing Theories on the Causes of Mandate Perceptions.” American Journal of Political Science 49:406–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, John E., and Kingdon, John W.. 1992. “Ideology, Interest Group Scores, and Legislative Votes.” American Journal of Political Science 36:805–823.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, Dale E., Doty, Sherry, Grammich, Clifford, Horsch, James E., Houseal, Richard, Lynn, Mac, Marcum, John P., Sanchagrin, Kenneth M., and Taylor, Richard H.. 2002. Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000: An Enumeration by Region, State and County Based on Data Reported for 149 Religious Bodies. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center.Google Scholar
Kalkan, Kerem Ozan, Layman, Geoffrey C., and Uslaner, Eric M.. 2006. “American Attitudes Toward Muslims: Another ‘Other’ in U.S. Politics?” Unpublished Manuscript. University of Maryland, College Park.Google Scholar
Katz, Jonathan N., and Sala, Brian R.. 1995. “Careerism, Committee Assignments, and the Electoral Connection.” American Political Science Review 90:21–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, V. O. 1949. Southern Politics: In State and Nation. New York, NY: A.A. Knopf.Google Scholar
King, Gary, Tomz, Michael, and Wittenberg, Jason. 2000. “Making the Most of Statistical Analyses: Improving Interpretation and Presentation.” American Journal of Political Science 44:347–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lublin, David. 2005. “The Strengthening of Party and Decline of Religion in Explaining Congressional Voting Behavior on Gay and Lesbian Issues.” PS: Political Science & Politics 38:241–245.Google Scholar
Mayhew, David. 1974. The Electoral Connection. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Meinke, Scott R. 2005. “Long-term Change and Stability in House Voting Decisions: The Case of the Minimum Wage.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 30:103–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E.. 1963. “Constituency Influence in the Congress.” American Political Science Review 57:45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nisbet, Eric C., Nisbet, Matthew C., Scheufele, Dietram A., and Shanahan, James E.. 2004. “Public Diplomacy, Television News, and Muslim Opinion.” The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 9:11–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldmixon, Elizabeth A. 2005. Uncompromising Positions: God, Sex and the U.S. House of Representatives. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldmixon, Elizabeth A., and Calfano, Brian R.. 2007. “The Religious Dynamics of Decision Making on Gay Rights Issues in the U.S. House of Representatives.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 46:55–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldmixon, Elizabeth A., and Hudson, William. 2008. “When Church Teachings and Policy Commitments Collide: Perspectives on Catholics in the U.S. House of Representatives.” Politics and Religion 1:113–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldmixon, Elizabeth A., Rosenson, Beth, and Wald, Kenneth D.. 2005. “Conflict Over Israel: The Role of Religion, Race, Party and Ideology in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1997–2002.” Terrorism and Political Violence 17:407–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenson, Beth A. 2007. “Explaining Legislators' Positions on Outside Income Limits: Voting on Honoraria Ceilings in the U.S. Senate, 1981–1983.” Public Choice 133:111–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenson, Beth A., Oldmixon, Elizabeth, and Wald, Kenneth D.. 2009. “U.S. Senators' Support for Israel Examined Through Sponsorship/Co-Sponsorship Decisions, 1993–2002: The Influence of Elite and Constituent Factors.” Foreign Policy Analysis 5:73–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomz, Michael, Wittenberg, Jason, and King, Gary. 2001. CLARIFY: Software for Interpreting and Presenting Statistical Results. Version 2.0. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.Google Scholar
Whitby, Kenny J. 2000. The Color of Representation: Congressional Behavior and Black Interests. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar