Ethnopolitical Entrepreneurs: Outsiders inside Armenian Los Angeles

by Daniel Fittante

Ethnopolitical Entrepreneurs presents the story of the Armenians of Glendale, California. Coming from Argentina, Armenia, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Russia, Syria, and many other countries, this group is internally fragmented and often has limited experience with the American political system. Nonetheless, Glendale's Armenians have rapidly mobilized and remade an American suburban space in their own likeness. In telling their story, Daniel Fittante expands our understanding of US political history. From the late nineteenth-century onward, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and several other immigrant populations in large American cities began changing the country's political reality. The author shows how Glendale's Armenians―as well as many other immigrants―are now changing the country's political reality within its dynamic, multiethnic suburbs. The processes look different in various suburban contexts, but the underlying narrative immigrant populations converge on suburban areas and ambitious political actors develop careers by driving coethnics' political incorporation.

204 pages, Paperback

Published December 15, 2023

Reviews

[Anh-Minh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book with a deep inquiry into Armenian American history and the journey into political influence in suburbs, which consist predominantly of multi-generational, immigrant populations. Fittante weaves together an impressive narrative that serves to push forward a penetrating glimpse into how immigrant communities mobilize.

[Shant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m thankful to Daniel Fittante for researching Glendale’s unique position as a global hub of the Armenian diaspora. This is an important work of Armenian studies.