Publications
Recontextualizing Whiteness: Understanding White Identity in the Era of Black Lives Matter
This study contributes to the growing literature on white identity in American politics by examining how dominant in-group identification varies among individuals and how expressions of white identity respond to shifts in racial context. I draw on three rounds of qualitative interviews with white residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in Minnesota to examine how context informs the expression of white identity, and how identity salience changes over time: first in February and March of 2020, again in July and August of 2020 after the surge in Black Lives Matter protests beginning in Minneapolis, and finally in August of 2023. I find that individuals understand and express their identity in a variety of ways ranging from denial and avoidance to acknowledgment of privilege. After the murder of George Floyd, individuals with more negative interpretations of their white identity responded to the shifting racial context in a way consistent with literature on group threat. Those with more positive interpretations of whiteness responded in a way more consistent with literature on intergroup contact. This study also demonstrates that in the long run, shifting social and political context influences the salience of racial politics and thus the expression of white identity. (Accepted at Perspectives on Politics)
Cole, Geneva (2024), Mobilizing Middlemen: The Conservative Political Action Conference and the Creation of Party Activists. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties . https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2024.2343384
What role does the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) play in the contemporary two-party system? This paper argues that this conference, and others like it, act as a site for mobilizing "middlemen" to act as the connective tissue between party elite and the mass public. I focus on two related questions: why do individuals attend the conference? And how does the process of mobilization unfold in the context of the conference? Using two rounds of interviews and participant observation from CPAC in 2019 and 2020, this paper typifies the routes to participating that are undertaken by the attendees of CPAC and presents qualitative empirical evidence for the process of mobilization. I find that highly engaged members of the mass public are brought to the conference through multiple routes and are then presented both with ideological information wrapped in the mobilizing language of identity and provided with the tools to be effective middlemen in the conservative movement. Operating outside of formal party structures, events like CPAC play a crucial role in producing cultural and ideological content that connect elites and members of the mass public.
Cole, Geneva (2020), Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter. Social Science Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12837
Objective. Until recently, whiteness was not considered a politically significant social identity. This study builds on recent work and explores empirically the different ways in which white people understand their whiteness with the objective of recognizing how variations in white identification shape attitudes about the Movement for Black Lives. Methods. I use qualitative analysis of in-depth semistructured interviews to develop a theoretical framework for understanding how white Americans understand and identify with their whiteness and apply this typology to expressed attitudes about Black Lives Matter. Results. I find three distinct patterns of white identification that characterize how white people understand their own race and privilege. These patterns subsequently affect how white Americans understand the experiences of minorities, specifically analyzed through opinions about Black Lives Matter. Conclusion. Variations in the way that white Americans understand their whiteness have tangible effects on the way they approach racial politics, with this paper focused specifically on white attitudes about the Movement for Black Lives. As the movement engages a broad multiracial coalition it is very possible that those who were previously unaware of their whiteness will come to see it as important, with potentially wide-ranging impacts on the future of racial politics in the United States.
This study contributes to the growing literature on white identity in American politics by examining how dominant in-group identification varies among individuals and how expressions of white identity respond to shifts in racial context. I draw on three rounds of qualitative interviews with white residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in Minnesota to examine how context informs the expression of white identity, and how identity salience changes over time: first in February and March of 2020, again in July and August of 2020 after the surge in Black Lives Matter protests beginning in Minneapolis, and finally in August of 2023. I find that individuals understand and express their identity in a variety of ways ranging from denial and avoidance to acknowledgment of privilege. After the murder of George Floyd, individuals with more negative interpretations of their white identity responded to the shifting racial context in a way consistent with literature on group threat. Those with more positive interpretations of whiteness responded in a way more consistent with literature on intergroup contact. This study also demonstrates that in the long run, shifting social and political context influences the salience of racial politics and thus the expression of white identity. (Accepted at Perspectives on Politics)
- Related: Don't expect mass Black Lives Matter protests again this summer, Washington Post Monkey Cage. 2021.
- Related: Some context for why Minnepolis became the spark igniting so many protests, MinnPost. 2020.
Cole, Geneva (2024), Mobilizing Middlemen: The Conservative Political Action Conference and the Creation of Party Activists. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties . https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2024.2343384
What role does the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) play in the contemporary two-party system? This paper argues that this conference, and others like it, act as a site for mobilizing "middlemen" to act as the connective tissue between party elite and the mass public. I focus on two related questions: why do individuals attend the conference? And how does the process of mobilization unfold in the context of the conference? Using two rounds of interviews and participant observation from CPAC in 2019 and 2020, this paper typifies the routes to participating that are undertaken by the attendees of CPAC and presents qualitative empirical evidence for the process of mobilization. I find that highly engaged members of the mass public are brought to the conference through multiple routes and are then presented both with ideological information wrapped in the mobilizing language of identity and provided with the tools to be effective middlemen in the conservative movement. Operating outside of formal party structures, events like CPAC play a crucial role in producing cultural and ideological content that connect elites and members of the mass public.
- Related: In 2020, conservatives believe they're battling to save America's soul by supporting Trump, Washington Post Monkey Cage. 2020.
Cole, Geneva (2020), Types of White Identification and Attitudes About Black Lives Matter. Social Science Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12837
Objective. Until recently, whiteness was not considered a politically significant social identity. This study builds on recent work and explores empirically the different ways in which white people understand their whiteness with the objective of recognizing how variations in white identification shape attitudes about the Movement for Black Lives. Methods. I use qualitative analysis of in-depth semistructured interviews to develop a theoretical framework for understanding how white Americans understand and identify with their whiteness and apply this typology to expressed attitudes about Black Lives Matter. Results. I find three distinct patterns of white identification that characterize how white people understand their own race and privilege. These patterns subsequently affect how white Americans understand the experiences of minorities, specifically analyzed through opinions about Black Lives Matter. Conclusion. Variations in the way that white Americans understand their whiteness have tangible effects on the way they approach racial politics, with this paper focused specifically on white attitudes about the Movement for Black Lives. As the movement engages a broad multiracial coalition it is very possible that those who were previously unaware of their whiteness will come to see it as important, with potentially wide-ranging impacts on the future of racial politics in the United States.
- Top 10 most downloaded paper in year following publication
Working Papers
Measuring White Identity
Scholars increasingly emphasize identity politics as a crucial factor influencing white political behavior, including attitudes toward immigration, social services, and candidate selection. This emerging white identity is often conceptualized as a solidarity that drives the desire to protect white status. However, does the measurement of white identity accurately capture this concept? This paper carefully reconsiders the measurement of white identity to more accurately reflect its conceptualization, distinguishing between identity and white consciousness without imposing ideological interpretations of group membership in the measurement process. To develop and test these adapted measures, I utilize a national survey of white Americans from 2022, along with insights from interviews with white Americans residing in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. My findings indicate that identity and consciousness are internally consistent dimensions of identity, sufficiently distinct from other racial and political attitudes. Analysis reveals that existing measures of white identity and consciousness predominantly reflect individuals who are more authoritarian, conservative, and racially resentful, providing only a partial view of racial identity among whites. When evaluating existing and adapted measures in predicting support for Trump in the 2020 election, I find that white identity lacks significance without an ideological interpretation of group membership, or group consciousness. However, expanding our understanding of how whites subjectively perceive their group membership yields more accurate estimates. (Under Review)
Racial Justice as Transitional Justice: Human Rights and Public Support for Racial Justice Initiatives in the United States with Genevieve Bates
Globally, human rights abuses by agents of the state security apparatus have sparked demands for reform. In the United States, these abuses are often committed by policing institutions, and are disproportionately experienced by minority communities. In this paper, we explore how framing racial justice policies as a human rights issue affects public support for enacting reforms. We focus specifically on racial justice policies associated with defunding the police. We use a survey experiment to test whether framing these initiatives as part of an international movement to implement transitional justice affects support for these policies among the American public. Our results largely confirm that framing racial justice policies as transitional justice can increase support, especially among non-Republicans. This has important implications for researchers analyzing state-centered approaches to justice and human rights promotion in the United States, and for activists seeking to garner support for racial justice policies. (Under Review)
Can Knowledge of Racially Restrictive Covenants Increase Support for Racial Redress Policies? with Bryant Moy
Public support for reparations remains sharply divided, particularly among White Americans. This study investigates whether informational and visual interventions emphasizing the structural roots of racial inequality can increase support for reparative policies. We focus on historical housing discrimination, specifically through racially restrictive housing covenants, which have contributed to the stark racial wealth gap in the United States. In a preregistered survey experiment with roughly 5,000 White respondents, we test the effects of detailed informational interventions about racially restrictive housing covenants. We find that exposure to this information about a specific structural injustice increases support for broad redress by 7 points on a 0–100 scale, while the inclusion of Black or white family images provides minimal additional increases. Our analysis finds that these results hold even for Republicans and conservatives, thus having implications for how to address racial injustice even while access to knowledge of racial history is being restricted. (Under Review)
Radical or Resonant? How Americans Understand Defunding the Police with Genevieve Bates
The Phrase "Defund the Police" has become a rallying cry in contemporary discussions of police reform and social justice in the United States. Scholars, activists, and pundits offer different interpretations of what the slogan means and there is no unified definition—and yet, #defundthepolice still has mobilizing power. In this paper, we analyze how Americans understand the phrase "defund the police" using open-ended free write survey responses. We argue that supporters and opponents of police reform have very different understandings of what the slogan means, both in terms of content and sentiment attached to that content. Using topic and sentiment analysis, we find important variations in both how Americans understand the phrase, and how it makes them feel. Looking more closely at the free write responses, we find that emotions play an important role and manifest differently for supporters and opponents. This research has implications for scholars who seek a more nuanced understanding of public opinion around contentious issues and for policymakers endeavoring to advance racial justice.
Russia Today in America: Testing the Mechanisms of Foreign Interference with Evgenia Olimpieva and Ipek Cinar
What are the mechanisms through which international actors interfere with domestic politics on social media and what makes them successful? We theorize that successful interference unfolds in two stages. First, the outlet needs to reach the audiences. Second, the outlet needs to gain audience trust. We theorize that audience trust can be built on a smaller set of content that is important to the target audience, which is then used to expose the same audiences to other, biased and less trustworthy material. Using the case of Russia’s state-funded international broadcaster, RT, we test our theory of successful international interference focusing on the topic of police, which we argue contributes to both reach and trust. We provide evidence of the reach of RT using quantitative analysis of an original dataset of YouTube videos published on the channel from 2015-2017. Then we qualitatively analyze the framing of RT videos on police and propose a survey experiment to understand how the outlet gains trust among viewers. Working paper available upon request.
Scholars increasingly emphasize identity politics as a crucial factor influencing white political behavior, including attitudes toward immigration, social services, and candidate selection. This emerging white identity is often conceptualized as a solidarity that drives the desire to protect white status. However, does the measurement of white identity accurately capture this concept? This paper carefully reconsiders the measurement of white identity to more accurately reflect its conceptualization, distinguishing between identity and white consciousness without imposing ideological interpretations of group membership in the measurement process. To develop and test these adapted measures, I utilize a national survey of white Americans from 2022, along with insights from interviews with white Americans residing in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. My findings indicate that identity and consciousness are internally consistent dimensions of identity, sufficiently distinct from other racial and political attitudes. Analysis reveals that existing measures of white identity and consciousness predominantly reflect individuals who are more authoritarian, conservative, and racially resentful, providing only a partial view of racial identity among whites. When evaluating existing and adapted measures in predicting support for Trump in the 2020 election, I find that white identity lacks significance without an ideological interpretation of group membership, or group consciousness. However, expanding our understanding of how whites subjectively perceive their group membership yields more accurate estimates. (Under Review)
- Winner, 2023 Seymour Sudman Student Paper Award, American Association for Public Opinion Research (earlier draft)
- 2023 Working Paper Series in American Politics, UCL Centre on US Politics (earlier draft)
Racial Justice as Transitional Justice: Human Rights and Public Support for Racial Justice Initiatives in the United States with Genevieve Bates
Globally, human rights abuses by agents of the state security apparatus have sparked demands for reform. In the United States, these abuses are often committed by policing institutions, and are disproportionately experienced by minority communities. In this paper, we explore how framing racial justice policies as a human rights issue affects public support for enacting reforms. We focus specifically on racial justice policies associated with defunding the police. We use a survey experiment to test whether framing these initiatives as part of an international movement to implement transitional justice affects support for these policies among the American public. Our results largely confirm that framing racial justice policies as transitional justice can increase support, especially among non-Republicans. This has important implications for researchers analyzing state-centered approaches to justice and human rights promotion in the United States, and for activists seeking to garner support for racial justice policies. (Under Review)
Can Knowledge of Racially Restrictive Covenants Increase Support for Racial Redress Policies? with Bryant Moy
Public support for reparations remains sharply divided, particularly among White Americans. This study investigates whether informational and visual interventions emphasizing the structural roots of racial inequality can increase support for reparative policies. We focus on historical housing discrimination, specifically through racially restrictive housing covenants, which have contributed to the stark racial wealth gap in the United States. In a preregistered survey experiment with roughly 5,000 White respondents, we test the effects of detailed informational interventions about racially restrictive housing covenants. We find that exposure to this information about a specific structural injustice increases support for broad redress by 7 points on a 0–100 scale, while the inclusion of Black or white family images provides minimal additional increases. Our analysis finds that these results hold even for Republicans and conservatives, thus having implications for how to address racial injustice even while access to knowledge of racial history is being restricted. (Under Review)
Radical or Resonant? How Americans Understand Defunding the Police with Genevieve Bates
The Phrase "Defund the Police" has become a rallying cry in contemporary discussions of police reform and social justice in the United States. Scholars, activists, and pundits offer different interpretations of what the slogan means and there is no unified definition—and yet, #defundthepolice still has mobilizing power. In this paper, we analyze how Americans understand the phrase "defund the police" using open-ended free write survey responses. We argue that supporters and opponents of police reform have very different understandings of what the slogan means, both in terms of content and sentiment attached to that content. Using topic and sentiment analysis, we find important variations in both how Americans understand the phrase, and how it makes them feel. Looking more closely at the free write responses, we find that emotions play an important role and manifest differently for supporters and opponents. This research has implications for scholars who seek a more nuanced understanding of public opinion around contentious issues and for policymakers endeavoring to advance racial justice.
Russia Today in America: Testing the Mechanisms of Foreign Interference with Evgenia Olimpieva and Ipek Cinar
What are the mechanisms through which international actors interfere with domestic politics on social media and what makes them successful? We theorize that successful interference unfolds in two stages. First, the outlet needs to reach the audiences. Second, the outlet needs to gain audience trust. We theorize that audience trust can be built on a smaller set of content that is important to the target audience, which is then used to expose the same audiences to other, biased and less trustworthy material. Using the case of Russia’s state-funded international broadcaster, RT, we test our theory of successful international interference focusing on the topic of police, which we argue contributes to both reach and trust. We provide evidence of the reach of RT using quantitative analysis of an original dataset of YouTube videos published on the channel from 2015-2017. Then we qualitatively analyze the framing of RT videos on police and propose a survey experiment to understand how the outlet gains trust among viewers. Working paper available upon request.
- Related: "Forcing Their Dirty Fingers into the National Wounds": How Russia Today Targets American Audiences with Content on Police Brutality, Reframing Russia. 2020.
Select Works in Progress
- The Unfinished Transition: Racial Violence and Human Rights in the United States with Genevieve Bates
- Racial Justice is Transitional Justice with Genevieve Bates
- Walking with the Enslaved: The Effects of Memorializing Racial Injustice in the Contemporary United States with Genevieve Bates
- We'll Be the Ones to Purify Our Fathers Sins: Race, Reconciliation, and the Episcopal Church
- The Process is the Product: Engaging the Public in Knowledge Production for Social Change with Bryant Moy
- American Public Opinion about Foreign Aid and the Characteristics of Recipient Nations with Avi Ahuja