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CUBAN EXCEPTIONALISM: Group-based Hierarchy and the Dynamics of Patriotism in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2004

Mark Q. Sawyer ,
Yesilernis Peña  and
Jim Sidanius
Mark Q. Sawyer
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles
Yesilernis Peña
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
Jim Sidanius
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
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Abstract

This paper examined the interface between “racial” and national identity from the perspective of two competing theoretical frameworks: the ideological asymmetry hypothesis and the thesis of Iberian Exceptionalism. In contrast to previous results found in the United States and Israel, use of survey data from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba showed some support for both theoretical positions. Consistent with the asymmetry thesis, there was strong and consistent evidence of racial hierarchy within all three Caribbean nations. However, contradicting the asymmetry hypothesis and more in line with the Iberian Exceptionalism perspective, there was a general tendency for all “races” to be equally attached to the nation in both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Somewhat unexpectedly, Cuban Blacks tended to be slightly more positively attached to the nation than Cuban Whites. These results suggest that the precise interface between racial and national identity will be acutely influenced by the specific socio-political context within each nation.

Keywords

PatriotismRaceRacismCubaPuerto RicoDominican Republic
Type
STATE OF THE ART
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , March 2004 , pp. 93 - 113
Copyright
© 2004 W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research

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