Democracy lives in darkness : how and why people keep their politics a secret / Emily Van Duyn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Duyn, Emily Van, author.

Series:

Journalism and political communication unbound.

Journalism and political communication unbound

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political sociology--United States.

Political sociology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (289 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Oxford University Press, [2022]

Summary:

'Democracy Lives in Darkness' is about why people choose to hide their political beliefs from others and how they do so. Emily Van Duyn follows a secret political organization in rural Texas whose all-female membership meets in secret out of fear of their conservative spouses, friends, family, and neighbors. Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations of this group throughout the Trump administration, as well as U.S. representative survey data on secret political expression, this book explores what it means to be politically outnumbered and how intensifying political polarization has changed that experience over the past several years.

Contents:

Cover

Half title

Series

Democracy Lives in Darkness

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

1. Democracy in Darkness 1

The Buried Seeds 3

Political Context 5

Social Context 9

Geographic Context 10

Networked Silence 13

A New Schema 16

Plan of the Book 19

2. Studying Political Secrecy 21

Studying Networked Silence in CWG 22

CWG and Community Composition 28

Studying Networked Silence in Texas and the United States 34

Analyzing the Data 35

Conclusion 37

3. Forming a Secret Group 39

Group Development 40

Group Structure 47

Personal Development 62

Digital and Traditional Media 66

Conclusion 73

4. Fearing the Other Side 75

Social Fear 77

Economic Fear 89

Physical Fear 97

Conclusion 104

5. Negotiating Identity and Secrecy 107

Nonpartisanship vs. Democratic Affiliation 108

All Women vs. Mixed Gender 114

Talking to the Other Side vs. Talking to Each Other 125

Remaining Secret vs. Going Public 131

Conclusion 140

6. Political Incubation and Infrastructure 143

Coming Out of the Political Closet 144

Covertly Fueling the Local Party 158

Revitalizing Party Leadership and Infrastructure 166

Conclusion 177

7. 2020 179

COVID- 19 180

Racial Reckoning 186

The Road to 2020 189

Election Results 194

The Future of CWG 196

8. Democracy through Darkness 199

How People Keep Their Politics a Secret 201

Why People Keep Their Politics a Secret 204

How to Look at Networked Silence 206

Why This Matters 208

Seeds, Not Sediment 213

Appendix A: Interviewee Pseudonyms And Interview Dates

Appendix B: Cwg Meetings

Appendix C: Survey Details

Hiding Political Beliefs 219

Offline/ Online Secret Expression 219

Fear of Isolation 222

Demographics 221

Appendix D: Semi-​Structured Interview Guide 2017

Acknowledgments.

Self- Description, Identity, and 2016 Election 225

Opposition in the Community and in Relationships 225

Organization- Specific Questions 225

Appendix E: Semi-​Structured Interview Guide 2018

Self- Description, Identity, and 2018 Mid- Term Election 227

Organization- Specific Questions 227

Appendix F: Semi-​Structured Interview Guide 2020

Self- Description, Identity, and Community 229

Organization- Specific Questions 229

Reckoning with Racial Injustice 229

2020 Election 229

COVID- 19 230Notes

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2021.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-755705-8

0-19-755704-X

OCLC:

1257403653