ABSTRACT
Major questions that require more careful attention in the study of Latino politics include definitions of the phenomena and of descriptions of the theoretical approaches, assumptions, and questions that underlie scholarly efforts to understand and comprehend Latino politics. Studies of Latino politics also raise questions concerning appropriate theories or explanations, theories that have broader implications for the understanding of American politics. There have been few analyses that consciously incorporate alternative perspectives on Latino politics such as "coalitional bias" or "systemic power" interpretations. Coalitional bias suggests that ethnic or racial and social-class status are often intertwined, serving as cues to what groups are more or less desirable, more or less socially and politically important. Systemic power arguments alert scholars to the significant ways in which power is exercised through the "logic of situations" and indirectly, not just in readily apparent and direct ways.
