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The book is an analysis of political inclusion and mobilization of South Asian immigrants- focused primarily on Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi communities- in the United States. It situates their experiences in the larger context of the scholarship that has emerged from studies on European immigrants in early 20th century as well insights from African American, Latino, and Asian American groups. It is one of the first studies that analyze South Asian immigrants’ involvement in American politics, particularly electoral politics. It brings together distinct literatures from Political Science, Ethnic Studies, Asian American Studies and South Asian studies and combines both quantitative as well as qualitative approaches of analysis. It includes the study of three major South Asian communities: Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi.

Until recently, policy evaluation has mostly meant assessing whether government programs raise reading levels, decrease teen pregnancy rates, improve air quality levels, lower drunk-driving rates, or achieve any of the other goals that government programs are ostensibly created to do. Whether or not such programs also have consequences with respect to future demands for government action and whether government programs can heighten—or dampen—citizen involvement in civic activities are questions that are typically overlooked. This book applies such questions to local government. Employing policy feedback theory to a series of local government programs, the book shows that these programs do have consequences with respect to citizens’ political participation. Unlike other feedback theory investigations, which tend to focus on federal government programs, this book looks at a broad range of policy at the local level, including community policing programs, economic development for businesses, and neighborhood empowerment programs. The book suggests that local governments’ social program activities actually dampen participation of the have-nots, while cities’ development programs reinforce the political involvement of already-privileged business interests. Meanwhile, iconic urban programs such as community policing and broader programs of neighborhood empowerment fail to enhance civic engagement or build social capital at the neighborhood level; at worst, they have the potential to deepen divisions—especially racial divisions—that undercut urban neighborhoods.