Political Subcultures in the American States

Abstract

This article uses survey data to examine Daniel J. Elazar's theory of political subcultures in the American states. While one of the most widely cited conceptual frameworks in American politics, it has never been operationalized and tested at the individual level. Survey questions are used to operationalize four dimensions to Elazar's formulation, but there is no correlation across the four dimensions. Two more traditional categorizations of Elazar's subtypes are developed: one based on geographic locale and the other on religion and ethnicity. A comparison of these measures also reveals little internal coherence, which suggests that, while Elazar may have identified some important dimensions of American political culture, these dimensions may not be associated in the manner that he hypothesized. Pursuing this line of analysis, some standard hypotheses are examined using the survey questions as separate indicators of cultural orientations toward politics. This analysis provides results that, within separate spheres of political behavior, are consistent with Elazar's expectations. The article suggests that, while he may have identified some key aspects of political culture, his cultural groupings have little empirical foundation.