Boundaries of obligation in American politics : geographic, national, and racial communities / Cara J. Wong.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-261) and index.

Community and special obligations -- The boundaries of imagined communities -- Imagined gates and neighbors -- Restricting national boundaries -- Blurring the color line.

"This book shows how ordinary Americans imagine their communities and the extent to which their communities' boundaries determine who they believe should benefit from the government's resources via redistributive policies. By contributing extensive empirical analyses to a largely theoretical discussion, it highlights the subjective nature of communities while confronting the elusive task of pinning down "pictures in people's heads."" "A deeper understanding of people's definitions of their communities and how they affect feelings of duties and obligations provides a new lens through which to look at diverse societies and the potential for both civic solidarity and humanitarian aid. This book analyzes three different types of communities and more than eight national surveys. Cara J. Wong finds that the decision to help only those within certain borders and to ignore the needs of those outside rests, to a certain extent, on whether and how people translate their sense of community into obligations."--Jacket.