Cleavage (politics)
Encyclopedia
Cleavage in political science
is a concept used in voting analysis and is the division of voters into voting bloc
s.
The preliminary assumption is that voters don’t come in predefined groups of pros and cons for or against a certain subject. Ballot analysis assumes that voters opt for a certain party, or decide for the solution or option that comes closest to their own position. Cleavage separates the voters into advocates and adversaries on a certain issue, or voting for a certain party. If you imagine parties on a horizontal line for a certain issue, cleavage is the vertical line that divides the parties into supporters and opponents of the issue.
and Stein Rokkan
(1967) defined four basic cleavages for western civilization after the Industrial Revolution. According to Lipset and Rokkan, these cleavages determined the emergence and the content of all European parties.
Contemporary ballot analysis speaks of the emergence of new cleavages. The traditional opposition between Owner and Worker (Capital and Work) is being differentiated further among those who have work/ are employable and those who are not.
Further, sex becomes another cleavage, especially in regard to getting and maintaining a paid labour position.
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
is a concept used in voting analysis and is the division of voters into voting bloc
Voting bloc
A voting bloc is a group of voters that are so motivated by a specific concern or group of concerns that it helps determine how they vote in elections. The divisions between voting blocs are known as cleavage...
s.
The preliminary assumption is that voters don’t come in predefined groups of pros and cons for or against a certain subject. Ballot analysis assumes that voters opt for a certain party, or decide for the solution or option that comes closest to their own position. Cleavage separates the voters into advocates and adversaries on a certain issue, or voting for a certain party. If you imagine parties on a horizontal line for a certain issue, cleavage is the vertical line that divides the parties into supporters and opponents of the issue.
Examples
There are probably as many cleavages in society as diverse members, but Seymour Martin LipsetSeymour Martin Lipset
Seymour Martin Lipset was an American political sociologist, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and the Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union organization, social stratification, public opinion, and...
and Stein Rokkan
Stein Rokkan
Stein Rokkan was a Norwegian political scientist and sociologist. He was a professor in comparative politics at the University of Bergen.-Career and influence:...
(1967) defined four basic cleavages for western civilization after the Industrial Revolution. According to Lipset and Rokkan, these cleavages determined the emergence and the content of all European parties.
- Centre – Periphery - The division between elites in the urban areas, and those in more outlying areas. This usually expresses itself in terms of regional nationalismRegionalism (politics)Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
. For example, in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
many regions have regionalist or separatistSeparatismSeparatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
parties. This division is, according to Lipset and Rokkan, caused by the creation of modern nation-stateNation-stateThe nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity...
s, where some states were better than others at assimilating other cultures into the majority nation. - State – Church - A division between religious and secular voters. In the Netherlands until the 1970s there were five major parties: the Catholic People's PartyCatholic People's PartyThe Catholic People's Party was a Catholic Christian democratic Dutch political party. During its entire existence, the party was in government. The party is one of the precursors of the Christian Democratic Appeal.- 1945-1965 :The KVP was founded on 22 December, 1945...
(KVP), the Protestant Anti Revolutionary PartyAnti Revolutionary PartyThe Anti Revolutionary Party was a Dutch Protestant Christian democratic political party. The ARP is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal. After 1917 the party never received more than twenty percent of the vote.-History before 1879:The anti-revolutionary parliamentary caucus...
(ARP) and Christian Historical UnionChristian Historical UnionThe Christian Historical Union was a Dutch conservative Protestant political party. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal.-History before 1908:...
(CHU), the social democraticSocial democracySocial democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), and the liberalLiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
People's Party for Freedom and DemocracyPeople's Party for Freedom and DemocracyThe People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
(VVD), the last two being secular. - Owner – Worker - A class cleavage, causing the formation of parties of the left and parties of the right. Sometimes it is argued that this cleavage represents a conflict between the rich and poor. Various parties have claimed to represent either interest, though this may or may not be genuine.
- Land – Industry - Continued state exercise of control over Tariffs against freedom of control for industrial enterprise.
Contemporary ballot analysis speaks of the emergence of new cleavages. The traditional opposition between Owner and Worker (Capital and Work) is being differentiated further among those who have work/ are employable and those who are not.
Further, sex becomes another cleavage, especially in regard to getting and maintaining a paid labour position.