Research

Anti-democratic drift among Asian Americans is often shaped by resentment rooted in fear, exclusion, and feeling unseen. Experiences of violence or global crises, paired with a perceived lack of solidarity or institutional response, can lead people to believe their pain is overlooked or minimized.

These feelings fuel zero-sum thinking around merit, resources, and fairness, and erode trust in government and multiracial coalitions. At the same time, the need for belonging can make right-wing spaces feel affirming even when values do not fully align.

Building narrative power requires activating a broad majority within the AAPI community for civic, community, and political participation, including audiences not yet aligned on key issues.

Through groundbreaking qualitative research, we developed six audience personas reflecting the values, tensions, and lived experiences of Millennial and Gen Z AAPI audiences. In 2023, we expanded this work through dedicated NHPI-centered research.

Ahead of the 2023 Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action, we partnered with community organizations to test messaging that could move audiences toward support for race-conscious policies.

We applied a similar approach to mental health stigma in AAPI communities, pairing message testing with creator partnerships and community feedback to ensure culturally grounded, movement-relevant content.

We asked Asian Americans an open-ended question: when you imagine living your best possible life, what would you need — that you maybe don't have now? The answers were revealing.

Overwhelmingly, respondents pointed to money and financial freedom as the key to a good life. Far ahead of homeownership, family, or health, economic security defined the vision. These findings offer a window into the economic anxiety that shapes political attitudes — and the narratives that resonate most with our community.

How does economic anxiety shape support for redistributive policies among Asian Americans? Our survey found a direct correlation: the more worried someone is about retirement, the less likely they are to support Medicaid work requirements — even among upwardly mobile, middle-income Asian Americans.

This challenges the assumption that economic drift is driven by ideology alone. For many, it reflects real material insecurity that makes policies feel zero-sum. Understanding this distinction is essential for building coalitions and countering right-wing narratives.

After two listening sessions with 24 participants from frontline organizations, the range of issues surfaced — immigration, policing, data disaggregation, Gaza, caste discrimination — felt disjointed at first. But a deeper look revealed patterns.

Underlying all of it were shared questions: How do I succeed in America if the American Dream isn't accessible to all? What is the racial positionality of Asian Americans, who experience both privilege and marginalization? These tensions connect to deeply held values around assimilation, scarcity, and invisibility — and they're being actively exploited.

Nearly all of the Millennial and Gen Z AAPIs we interviewed felt isolated — from their heritage, ethnic or racial group, other AAPIs, or even their families. Language gaps, class differences, and not feeling 'Asian enough' amplified this sense of disconnection.

Representation helps, but it isn't enough. To connect across disparate experiences and identities, we need an AAPI identity that is expansive enough to include multiply-marginalized voices and grounded enough to foster genuine belonging and collective action.

In partnership with AAPI Victory Fund and VietRISE, AAF applied narrative research and community organizing to mobilize low-propensity Asian American voters in Orange County, CA — one of the country's most pivotal regions for AAPI electoral power.

Our research-informed content — mailers featuring hotpot, a video connecting voting and lactose intolerance, and Vietnamese-language civic vocabulary — countered despair and met audiences where they were. Turnout was statistically significantly higher among voters who received our mailers.

Ahead of the 2024 cycle, we landscaped the narratives young Asian Americans were exposed to around voting. Four themes stood out: generic 'just vote' appeals that assume audiences already know why voting matters; fearmongering and mockery that reinforce disengagement; high-stakes single-issue framing; and a pervasive sense of despair that elections change nothing.

Countering despair — not just amplifying urgency — emerged as the central challenge. That insight shaped our subsequent message testing and GOTV strategy.