The Trouble with Unity

"Cristina Beltrán's powerful book, The Trouble with Unity,
is timely for our age of Obama in which an ugly anti-immigrant spirit
looms large. Don't miss it!" —Cornel West, Princeton University 

"In her lucid account of the complexities of identity politics, Cristina
Beltrán analyzes U.S. Latino efforts to forge a unified political
community, persuasively arguing that unity-based politics can provide
spaces for meaningful political action but too often minimizes major
differences. The Trouble with Unity
is an informative, balanced, and unusually thoughtful
contribution." —Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished
Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania

"Many have looked at the growth of Latino political identity from a
purely empirical perspective. This work, however, tries to understand
how Latino-ness is performed and understood in the public sphere, the
growth and nature of pan-ethnic identity, and how disparate individuals
come together to see themselves as a political interest. Cristina
Beltrán's book is a work of theory built off of a careful historical
examination of practice and is a major contribution." —Gary Segura,
Professor of Political Science and Chair of Chicana/o Studies, Stanford
University

"This book makes an original and centrally important contribution
by using categories of political theory to analyze the ways in which
'Latinos' have thought about their political identities. It will become
essential reading for those interested in how political theorists can
contribute to the rethinking of race and ethnicity." —Joan Tronto,
Professor of Political Theory, University of Minnesota