ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we seek answers to the following questions: (a) How do individuals of Asian descent identify themselves and why? And (b) How much and under what conditions do Asian Americans choose to coalesce into a political bloc based on a common panethnic American identity? These are questions of central concern to followers of the Asian American community and U.S. racial and ethnic minority politics. The presence of a panethnic identity among ordinary community members may have important implications for their political behavior and policy preferences.1 Because of the pronounced internal diversity and constant expansion of the population, many wonder if the term “Asian American” is recognized and has meaning among individuals of Asian descent in the United States. If yes, who among Asian Americans would adopt this term as an aspect of their self-identity and to what degree? If not, what other identities are preferred and in what ranking order?
