Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6306-9805

Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Committee Chair

Erik Herron

Committee Member

Matthew Jacobsmeier

Committee Member

Mason Moseley

Committee Member

Vito D'Orazio

Committee Member

Megan Vendemia

Abstract

This dissertation explores how competing interests across secondary dimensions of identity shape marginalized groups' capacity to institutionalize their grievances, particularly ethnic minorities. More specifically, I explore two mechanisms, intragroup cohesiveness and distinctiveness, as a driving force of grievance mobilization. This research is interdisciplinary, drawing on theories from political sociology, political communications, and computational social science. I examine the question of ethnic group particization in two stages. In the first stage, I developed an original machine learning pipeline to process large text corpora and identify the indicators of the strength of collective ethnic grievances in online group discussions. In the second stage, I collected a cross-national dataset comprising over 100 ethnic minority groups across 21 post-communist countries to measure their socioeconomic and linguistic cohesiveness and distinctiveness. I find that the two mechanisms, intragroup cohesiveness and distinctiveness, are essential for explaining the mobilization capacity of ethnic minorities to institutionalize their grievances.

Comments

the Libraries Committee Signature form

Download

Share

COinS