Ethnic and Cultural Identity
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Republican and Democrat Pundits on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity Dan Hegelund Supervisor Mats Lindberg Seminar, 2013-01-17 Political Science D Master-level thesis, 15 ECTS Fall 2012 _______________________________________________________ !1 Republican and Democrat Pundits on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity Abstract A Master-level Thesis in Political Science by Dan Hegelund, winter 2012. “Republican and Democrat pundits on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity”. Supervisor: Mats Lindberg. This thesis seeks to analyze the discourse of Republican and Democrat pundits on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity. The thesis contains a quantitative and a qualitative part. The quantitative part is a text content analysis, on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity, of fifteen books authored by the most influential political pundits in America today. The qualitative part is a debate analysis, on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity, of Patrick Buchanan, Michael Medved, Juan Williams, and Ed Schultz, through the theoretical framework of Samuel Huntington, Amartya Sen, and Seyla Benhabib. The thesis concludes that the differences between Republican and Democrat discourse on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity are minor, although there is a pattern of Republican pundits being more outspoken about the topic than Democrat pundits. Keywords: Amartya Sen, Civilization, Conflict, Culture, Diversity, Ed Schultz, Ethnicity, Globalization, Identity, Immigration, Juan Williams, Michael Medved, Multiculturalism, Patrick Buchanan, Pundits, Samuel Huntington, Seyla Benhabib, Universalism. !2 Republican and Democrat Pundits on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity Table of Contents Title Page Abstract Table of Contents Part I: Rationale for the thesis................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: The Problem............................................................................................. 1 1.1 The rise of the punditocracy............................................................. 2 1.2 The significance of party-affiliation................................................. 6 1.3 Relevance of the Study..................................................................... 9 1.4 Aim and Objectives.......................................................................... 10 1.5 Definition of Terms.......................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Methodological Framework................................................................... 16 2.1 Method............................................................................................. 16 2.2 Choosing the Empirical Material..................................................... 25 Part II: Theory...................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3: Theory Introduction.............................................................................. 26 Chapter 4: Research Question 1 – To what degree are people’s different ethnic and cultural identity a contributing cause of conflict?.................................................... 27 4.1 Samuel Huntington....................................................................... 27 4.2 Amartya Sen.................................................................................. 28 4.3 Seyla Benhabib.............................................................................. 28 Chapter 5: Research Question 2 – Topics such as assimilation vs multiculturalism, American exceptionalism vs universalism, and immigration?................................ 30 5.1 Samuel Huntington....................................................................... 30 5.2 Seyla Benhabib............................................................................. 31 5.3 Amartya Sen................................................................................. 31 Chapter 6: Research Question 3 – What are future strategies for interaction between peoples of different ethnic and cultural identities?.................................................. 33 6.1 Seyla Benhabib............................................................................. 33 6.2 Amartya Sen................................................................................ 34 6.3 Samuel Huntington.................................................................... 35 !3 Republican and Democrat Pundits on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity Part III: The Debate............................................................................................ 36 Chapter 7: Introducing the Pundits..................................................................... 36 7.1 Pat Buchanan............................................................................ 36 7.2 Michael Medved....................................................................... 37 7.3 Juan Williams............................................................................ 37 7.4 Ed Schultz.................................................................................. 37 7.5 Limitations................................................................................. 38 Chapter 8: Research Question 1 – According to the pundits, to what degree are people’s different ethnic and cultural identity a contributing cause of conflict?.................................................................................................................. 39 8.1 According to Republican Pundits............................................... 39 8.1.1 Patrick buchanan................................................... 39 8.1.1 Michael Medved................................................... 40 8.2 According to Democrat Pundits.................................................. 42 8.2.1 Juan Williams........................................................ 42 8.2.2 Ed Schultz.............................................................. 43 Chapter 9: Research Question 2 – Where do the pundits stand on topics such as assimilation vs multiculturalism, American exceptionalism vs universalism, and immigration?............................................................................................................ 44 9.1 According to republican Pundits................................................... 44 9.1.1 Patrick Buchanan..................................................... 44 9.1.2 Michael Medved...................................................... 45 9.2 According to Democrat Pundits.................................................... 47 9.2.1 Juan Williams.......................................................... 47 9.2.2 Ed Schultz............................................................... 48 Chapter 10: Research Question 3 – According to the pundits, what are future strategies for interaction between peoples of different ethnic and cultural identities?............................................................................................................ 49 10.1 According to Republican Pundits................................................. 49 10.1.1 Patrick Buchanan.................................................... 49 10.1.2 Michael Medved..................................................... 50 10.2 According to Democrat Pundits.................................................... 52 10.2.1 Juan Williams.......................................................... 52 !4 Republican and Democrat Pundits on the topic of Ethnic and Cultural Identity 10.2.2 Ed Schultz............................................................... 52 Part IV: Analysis................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 11: Quantitative Analysis......................................................................... 54 Chapter 12: Research Question 1 – According to the pundits, to what degree are people’s different ethnic and cultural identity a contributing cause of conflict?.................................................................................................................. 56 12.1 Comparison of Republican and Democrat pundits..................... 56 12.2 Republican pundits.................................................................... 56 12.3 Democrat pundits..................................................................... 57 12.4 Personal reflections..................................................................... 58 Chapter 13: Research Question 2 – Where do the pundits stand on topics such as assimilation vs multiculturalism, American exceptionalism vs universalism, and immigration?............................................................................................................ 59 13.1 Comparison of Republican and Democrat pundits..................... 59 13.2 Republican pundits.................................................................... 59 13.3 Democrat pundits..................................................................... 60 13.4 Personal reflections..................................................................... 61 Chapter 14: Research Question 3 – According to the pundits, what are future strategies for interaction between peoples of different ethnic and cultural identities?............................................................................................................ 62 14.1 Comparison of Republican and Democrat pundits..................... 62 14.2 Republican pundits...................................................................