“From the Iraqi Parliament to the U.S. House of Representatives, policymakers and scholars alike have long argued that it is critical that the composition of elected assemblies represent the diversity of the broader polity. This book proffers the claim that increases in minority group representation in political parties result in poorer treatment of minority group members by both their majority group counterparts and fellow minority group members. This condition, referred to as “asymmetric tokenism”, undermines the link between descriptive and substantive forms of representation. Yet this cond ... More

“From the Iraqi Parliament to the U.S. House of Representatives, policymakers and scholars alike have long argued that it is critical that the composition of elected assemblies represent the diversity of the broader polity. This book proffers the claim that increases in minority group representation in political parties result in poorer treatment of minority group members by both their majority group counterparts and fellow minority group members. This condition, referred to as “asymmetric tokenism”, undermines the link between descriptive and substantive forms of representation. Yet this condition can be offset when a minority group is sufficiently large, since its members are able to have divergent policy preferences without facing heavy sanctions from colleagues. The Diversity Paradox is the first study to examine systematically the “black box” of how descriptive representation might, or might not, translate to substantive representation, via the effect of group dynamics on colleague valuation. Using a combination of analytical, statistical, and qualitative methods, Kanthak and Krause are able to assess the full-scale consequences of diversity in American national and state legislatures The authors’ core claim is both powerful and simple - fully enjoying the benefits of diversity in representative institutions requires that minority groups not only attain sufficient descriptive representation within the institution, but also overcome their intra-group coordination problems. The Diversity Paradox highlights the consequences of increasing diversity in political organizations, and how best to remedy these problems to ensure that minority group voices are fully heard.”