In The State You See, Aaron J. Rosenthal offers a thought-provoking exploration into the impact that government visibility and exposure have on political distrust across racial groups. Rosenthal argues that increased visibility of government does not necessarily lead to greater trust in political institutions. Instead, he posits that the specific aspects of the state to which political distrust is attached play a profound role in shaping racial inequalities in civic and political engagement. Drawing on both survey and qualitative interview data, The State You See evidences a growing racial divide in government visibility and exposure since the 1960s. Rosenthal finds that when asked about the role of the state in their lives, “Whites locate the state within taxes and welfare policies [and] people of color … use the criminal legal system as an anchor point” (75). Thus, as the book empirically demonstrates, greater government visibility and exposure mobilize White people while disempowering communities of color.

A strength of the book is the focus on White people's conceptions of government and their resulting political behavior. Rosenthal's use of research from political science, sociology, and psychology provides a robust theoretical understanding of why distrust is a motivating factor for White people. In essence, Wh