ETHNIC

LINGUISTIC

SOCIAL RACIAL

CLEAVAGES RELIGIOUS

AND SECTARIAN

REGIONAL
POLITICS
IDEOLOGICAL

CLASS
 The
The objective, The subjective, entrepreneurial
.

SOCIAL CLEAVAGES –Aspects of

the definition
 A determinant A determinant A determinant
of voting of institution- of political
behavior building party formation

Why study social cleavages?

MULTIPLE CLEAVAGES MAY COEXIST IN A SOCEITY
-how these cleavages interact determines the intensity of conflicts in
the society.

Overlapping cleavages
“All indigenous people are from either the lower middle- or lower-
class households”.
“Those of European origins belong to upper middle- or upper-class
households”.
Race and class overlap, cumulate, and reinforce one another. This
interaction leads to the flaring up of the conflict.
OVERLAPPING CLEAVAGE:

 lower middle or lower class

INDIGENOUS

POPULATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 upper middle or upper class POPULATION OF
EUROPEAN
ORIGINS
Cross-cutting cleavages
“There are indigenous people belonging to lower, middle,
and upper class households”.
“There are people of European origins belonging to lower,
middle, and upper class households”.

Class crosscuts race. Cross-cutting cleavages lead to the

moderation of conflicts as they build bridges between
population that otherwise fall divided .
CROSS-CUTTING CLEAVAGE

x
 1: lower middle- or lower-class indigenous people
 2: lower middle- or lower-class people of European origins
 3: upper middle- or upper-class indigenous people
 4: upper middle- or upper-class people of European origins
Switzerland
Regions- the country is divided into 26 cantons.
Linguistic groups- German-speaking 65%, French-speaking 20%,
Italian-speaking 8%
Religious groups- Catholic 46%, Protestant 40%
Out of the 26 cantons, all except four are linguistically
homogeneous. REGION and LANGUAGE LARGELY
OVERLAP/CUMULATE/REINFORCE ONE ANOTHER.
Yet, cantons are religiously mixed. Catholics and Protestants live
side by side. RELIGION and REGION cross-cut one another.
RELIGION cross-cuts REGION AND LANGUAGE.
Belgium
Flanders is the Dutch-speaking and Wallonia the
French-speaking regions.
There is economic disparity between the two regions,
with the former being the wealthier region.
REGION, LANGUAGE, AND CLASS OVERLAP
AND REINFORCE ONE ANOTHER.
Yet, over 90% of the Belgian population are Catholics.
RELIGION CROSSCUTS REGION, LANGUAGE,
AND CLASS.
South Africa
End of apartheid
Black Economic Empowerment
policy
The growth and expansion of the
middle class
Class today crosscuts race.
SOCIAL CLEAVAGES AND POLITICAL PARTY FAMILIES
*Rokkan’s account on the emergence of political party families
 SOCIAL CLEAVAGES AND POLITICAL
PARTY FAMILIES
*Rokkan’s account on the emergence of political party
families
*The National Revolution – Early 19th century
-few citizens were entitled to vote (the male population and the property owners),
-centralization of power, accumulation of power at the center, consolidation of a central authority, state-building,
-national homogenization, standardization- the emergence of common and national values, a common language…
-the church being stripped off of its privileges by the secular state and advocating subsidiarity,
-two major cleavages and faultines as the product of national homogenization, secularization, and centralization of authority:
1)Center vs Periphery → emergence of regionalist /regional-nationalist political parties,
2)State vs Church → emergence of conservative / Christian Democratic political parties,

-This latter cleavage also led to the rise of liberal political parties in response to the
conservative parties.
-All parties still preserve their relevance.
Late 19th century -a new revolution:
*The Industrial Revolution- industrialization and urbanization
-production in factories shifting to urban centers,
-growth of the urban population,
-two major cleavages and faultlines as the product of urbanization and industrialization:
 1)rural vs urban → emergence of agrarian and peasant political
parties:
-mainly in northern and eastern Europe,
-did not prove to be resilient and merged into other, mainly
conservative, political parties,
-urban producers demanding free trade and exchanges,
-agrarian producers asking for greater protection and tariffs.

2)worker vs employer → THE CLASS CLEAVAGE →emergence of

labor, socialist, social democratic political parties.
-this party family still preserves its relevance.
 Workers crowding into factories growing in size and
consciousness,
 Workers demanding more pay, better working conditions, greater
protection when faced with unemployment or accidents, lesser
working hours…
 Employers wishing to cut costs and enhance profits,
 Trade unions emerging,
 Trade unions transforming themselves into political parties.
*The International Revolution- the third major revolution
-early 20th century,
-universal suffrage and mass electorate gradually taking hold,
-the Russian revolution of 1917 posed as the landmark

-a major cleavage and faultline emerging as the product of the impact of

Russian revolution : communist vs socialist → emergence of
communist political parties.
- this cleavage, in reaction, led to the rise of fascist political parties and
conservatism radicalized in parts of Europe.
-the left-wing of the political spectrum witnessed a division: communist
parties were mostly breakaways from socialists.
-the disagreement between the socialists and the communists centered on:
1.whether the Soviet Communist Party should be taken as a model,

2.the inevitability of a class-based revolution rather than gradual

change and evolution.
-the Marxist idea of communism through revolution as the ultimate
mode of production was endorsed by the communist parties.
Modes of production, Marx and Engels:
1)Asiatic
Organized around monarchy or priesthood,
Economic activity in the villages,
Farming surplus is expropriated.
2)Slavery
Masters own the people,
People produce the large part of economic surplus.
3)Feudal
Partially free serfs exploited by aristocracy of landlords,
Expropriation of surplus.

4)Capitalist
regarded to be a necessary evil,
misery suffered boosts the support for revolutionary change,
private ownership of the means of production,
people are nominally free and yet exploited by owners of capital.
 5)Communist:
-class consciousness on the rise,
-alienation in decline,
-revolution,
-dictatorship of the proletariat,
-a classless society to follow,
-the state would no longer be needed in disseminating the ideas of
the dominant class.
*Post-industrial revolution
-Late 20th century,
-Universal suffrage but voters highly demobilized.

-two major cleavages and faultlines as the product of post-industrial

society:
1)Materialist vs. post-materialist → emergence of green and
libertarian political parties,
Continue to be relevant political parties.
2)Open vs. closed society → right and left-wing populism, far or
extreme-right political parties.
Continue to be relevant political parties.
-materialism vs post-materialism:
Ronald Inglehart, The Silent Revolution: Changing Values and Political
Styles among Western Publics (1977)

Economic security and affluence →culture shift →political

consequences

Materialist needs: sustenance needs (safety, order, security,

income…)
Post-materialist needs: improvements in quality of life (aesthetic,
intellectual, belonging, esteem, self-fulfillment, satisfaction, self-
expression …needs).
Four system level changes →Changes in values
→Changes in
skills

 SYSTEM LEVEL CHANGES:

1) Economic and technological development
2) Differing cohort experiences
3) Rising levels of education and years of schooling
4) Expansion of mass communications, through mass media and
greater mobility.
SYSTEM LEVEL CONSEQUENCES

1)Ascendancy of quality of life issues

2)Decline of social class conflict as well as the relevance of social
class in explaining political attitudes and behavior
3)Nation-state coming under challenge from both the sub- and the
supranational loyalties
4)Rise of direct, elite-challenging, and issue-oriented forms of
political participation.
Intergenerational replacement model? “The young are more likely to hold
post-materialist values than the elderly”.
Life-cycle effect? “Younger people turn more materialist as they age”.

-Not a universal model: more relevant for high income societies.

Low income societies: lesser intergenerational differences.

-Post-materialism leads to permissive attitudes on social issues such as:

Euthanasia,
Marriage,
Divorce,
Abortion,
Diversity…
Agricultural →Industrializing societies:
Traditional → Secular-rational values

Industrial → Postindustrial societies

Survival → Self-expression values
OPEN VS CLOSED SOCIETY

-Protection of culture, identity, and interests against perceived

threats:
A SENSE OF ECONOMIC INSECURITY
Winners and losers of globalization and rising mobility
Growing competition from migrant workers
Growing competition from developing economies
Outsourcing
“Bad trade deals”
Small economic enterprises fearing takeovers
Concern over European integration and the loss of national sovereignty
Fear of Americanization of culture

 THE OUTCOME:
Rising populism on the left and the right,
Distrust towards the “elite”,
Declining confidence in the established political institutions,
A discourse centering on the identification of “us” vs “them”
Direct appeals to the voters
Calls for the protection of national interest.