A RACIAL ETHNIC DIVERSITY INTERPRETATION OF POLITICS AND POLICY IN THE STATES OF THE US/

Theory: This paper examines a new interpretation of politics in the st ates of the U.S.-that racial and ethnic diversity, and the levels and types of this diversity, are central to understanding politics and pol icy in the states. We conceptualize and statistically model states in terms of their homogeneous, heterogeneous, or bifurcated racial/ethnic composition. Hypothesis: Racial/ethnic diversity provides a theoretic al and empirical explanation for policy variations in the states. Meth ods: Data are used to develop two measures of racial/ethnic diversity: an index of minority diversity and white ethnic diversity. These indi ces are compared with ''political culture'' categories using descripti ve and inferential statistics. Using regression analysis, the measures of racial/ethnic diversity are examined relative to several state pol icies. Results: Racial/ethnic diversity explains much of the variation in the grouping of state political cultures. Increased minority diver sity (bifurcation) is associated with lower overall education and soci al policy outcomes. But when the policies are disaggregated by race, w e find that policies for minorities are especially poor in homogeneous states. The unique contribution of the diversity interpretation is th at it can account for policy variation in the aggregate, as well as wi th respect to specific policies as they affect minorities. Previous re search concerning race and public policy addresses the former (aggrega te) outcomes, but does not anticipate nor explain the latter, especial ly the dynamics of race/ethnicity in homogeneous contexts. Also, diffe rent types of ''political pluralism''-consensual, competitive, and hie rarchical-are associated with varying levels of racial/ethnic diversit y.