p. 228
..the concept of identity became central. This concept serves to disintguish groups to which an individual simply belongs (that are not central to self-concept) from those that are a more integral part of personality. Different people in the same group may differ. Thus some Catholics have a purely nominal attachmentment, and others think of it as central to who they are. A disparaging remark about Catholics is an attack on them. [...]
Identities are not primarily about adherence to a group ideology or creed. They are emotional attachments that transcend thinking.
[...]
Yet even now, the concept of identity is too often imperfectly integrated into the study of political behavior. Much political science research mentions the concept, but fails to measure it. Group memberships are substituted for group identities, as if every group member were interchangeable. Hence degrees of identity cannot be used to explain differences in opinions and behavior within the group. [...]
In our view, a realist theory of democracy must be founded on a realistic theory of politial psychology. At present, nothing of that kind exists. Step one, therefore, is to begin building a framework for thinking about voters that escapes from the populist liberalism that has constrained so much recent thought. [...]
To accomplish that, identity theory will have to be brought in the macro-social world of politics. The role of political elites in strucuring politically relevant cleavaes needs to be understood better. It is popular now to treat identities as malleable and socially constructed, as indeed they are. We agree that politicians make their own cleavages, but we would add: not just as they please. The limits of malleability need to be spelled out.
Equally important, the impats of identities need to be demonstrated, not only in the lab, but in the real political world. For example, when a presidential candidate draws surprising support in polls and primaries, we need sophisticated survey researcg tools that allow us to trace that support to identity groups, and not just to the preferences, attitudes, and idealology that the folk theory holds dear.