Lecture 2: Cleavages, Ideologies and political parties

Alignment

party identification on the basis of cleavage structures and ideologies

Centre-periphery

Originated in France as a reaction to political centralization which pits the powerful centre and the weaker periphery. This can lead to secession, substate autonomy, absorption into a unitary state or persistent tension.

Centrifugal pluralism

major movement outside the established political arena and several opposed parties within it

Class cleavage

originated in the Industrial revolution with a conflict between the owners of capital and established elites versus the working classes. Conflict centres around economic conditions, political rights and redistribution of wealth. This can be seen in socialist/communist parties

Cleavages

Social division creating a collective identity among those on each side of the divide

Clientelism

Client offers political support in exchange for material benefits, quid-pro-quo. Can be seen in patronage, food, money, permits/loans...

Common heuristic

cognitive shortcuts that facilitate judgements and decision making. E.g. left vs right with people sitting depending on their ideology

Communist parties

originate in split after the Russian Revolution in 1917. Advocate for working class, against free market/capitalism, against EU-integration/globalization.

Conservative parties

riginate in 19th century which initially protect the interests of aristocracy/elite. Later in opposition to progressive change to not be outvoted when vote enlarged. Tend to advocate interests of privileges classes, traditional values, resistance to social change, law and order, limited government and fiscal austerity

Critical junctures

Lipset and Rokkan traced the origins of Western European party systems to. three "crucial junctures": reformation, the democratic revolution after 1789 and the industrial revolution. Critical junctures are turning points that alter the course of evolution of some entity.

Cross-cutting cleavages

cleavages cutting across each other leading to less polarization

Dealignment

declining party identification that is not replaced with a new one

Ethnic cleavages

originated in the emergence of ethnically diverse societies with weaker national identities, particularly postcolonial states. Conflict centres around cultural rights, sovereignty and separatism. This can be seen in ethnic parties

Far right parties

originate post WW2 but much stronger since 1990s as a reaction to immigration and multiculturalism. Advocate nationalism, nativism and anti-immigration, anti-globalization, traditionalism and populist democracy.

Freezing hypothesis

A concept introduced by S. M. Lipset and Stein Rokkan in 1967 to denote the fact that cleavages within Western European parties have remained largely 'frozen' since before 1920 and the introduction of women's suffrage

Green parties

originate in late 1970s and 80s. Advocate for environmentalism, international peace, social justice and human rights. Divergence between the more activist and more mainstream green parties.

Ideologies

collection of beliefs and values shaping understanding of social and political world

Land-industry cleavage

landed interests (typically agricultural sector) and the rising class of industrial entrepreneurs

Legitimation, incorporation, representation, majority power

According to Lipset and Rokkan, these are the four thresholds in the path of any movement pressing forward new sets of demands within a political system

Liberal parties

originate in 19th century following French revolution with opposition to the monarchy and church. They tend to advocate for secularism, individual rights , free market capitalism and globalization

Majority systems

tend to result in two-party competition - Duverger's law. The United States

National and industrial revolution (Lipset and Rokkan)

National revolution is a move towards national-building culture with resistance to ethnically, linguistically, religiously distinct populations; a conflict between the centralising of the nation-state and the privileges that the Church enjoyed. The industrial revolution pitted the landed interests versus the rising class of industrial entrepreneurs (Owners and employers vs tenants, labourers and workers).

New democracy cleavages

Bornschier (2009) argues that cleavages should travel well to new democracies, however new democracies often don't have the kind of cleavages that can be seen in the West. He contends that we don't see the same process as there was no large-scale internal processes of change or upheaval, no contestation for suffrage rights (Exception: South Africa), greater role for individual politicians due to the absence of strong social organizations. This results in high electoral volatility, personalistic politics and patron client linkages and clientelist politics.

Overlapping cleavages

two cleavages that create more cleavages on the side resulting in more polarization

Owner-Worker cleavages

Owners of capital and established elites vs working classes

Political apathy and cynicism

decreasing turnout and party membership; personalistic and anti-system voting; electoral volatility; decreasing legitimacy of (democratic) political system. Voting becomes more person oriented over the party

Proportional/mixed systems

facilitate multi-party system.

Realignment

shifting party identification on the basis of changing cleavages, resulting in (dramatic) changes in party system

Religious cleavage

originated in the French revolution with a conflict between the new nationalist/ secular elites and the clergy. Conflict centres on religious rights and the role of religion in public life, especially with regards to education. This can be seen in the conservative vs liberal party divide

Religious/confessional parties

originated in mid-19th century to protect interests of the church in the face of secularism. Tend to advocate religious rights, religious values and economic centrism

Secession, substate, unitary state, persistent tension

results of the centre-periphery cleavage

Silent Revolution

theory developed by Inglehart contending that since 1960s and 70s, there has been a value change in post-industrial democracies where the previous cleavages are old fashioned. Therefore, there is a shift from material to post-material values such as democracy, human rights, environment and pacifism

Socially/democrat parties

originated in late 19th century established to represent the working class following the extension of the suffrage. Advocated for a mixed economy, welfare state and globalization.

State-Church

This cleavage pits the rise of secularism to the religious control over mass education

Transnational cleavage

Hooghe and Marks content that a transnational cleavage has developed in response to immigration and EU-integration, pitting the winners and losers of globalization together. There is a focus on Immigration and multiculturalism, globalization and nationalism, Culture and identity, majoritarian vs. liberal democracy. Overall this results in rising electoral volatility