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The Political Consequences of Ethnically Targeted Incarceration: Evidence from Japanese-American Internment During WWII

The Political Consequences of Ethnically Targeted Incarceration: Evidence from Japanese-American Internment During WWII

On October 22, 2021 at 12:30 pm on Zoom, Dr. Yamil Velez, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, presents “The Political Consequences of Ethnically Targeted Incarceration: Evidence from Japanese-American Internment During WWII” (with Maya Sen and Mayya Komisarchik). 

What are the downstream political consequences of state activity explicitly targeting an ethnic minority group? This question is well studied in the comparative context, but less is known about the effects of explicitly racist state activity in liberal democracies such as the United States. The authors investigate this question by looking at an important event in American history—the internment of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II. They find that Japanese Americans who were interned or had family who were interned are significantly less politically engaged and that these patterns of disengagement increase with internment length. Their findings contribute to a growing literature documenting the demobilizing effects of ethnically targeted detention and expand our understanding of these forces within the U.S.

Headshot of Yamil Velez.Dr. Velez completed his Ph.D. in Political Science at Stony Brook University and holds B.A.s in Political Science and Psychology from Florida State University. His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection between racial and ethnic politics, political psychology, and political geography, with a focus on immigration. Prior to coming to Columbia, he was an Assistant Professor at George Washington University and Wesleyan University.

Zoom link: https://tcnj.zoom.us/j/93338811244?pwd=ZTF5alR6eTBoSVFYOFgxcFUwTXRWUT09