Cross-cutting cleavage is a political term that refers to factors in society which cause division (such as race, political, religious divisions etc) in such a way that no group created by one "cleavage" is wholly contained within a group created by another - hence "cross-cutting". For example, if a racialized minority is nonetheless proportionately represented in all economic class levels, then the racial cleavage is said to cross-cut the economic cleavage. Cross-cutting cleavages were originally suggested as a mechanism for political stability, as no group can align all its members along a uniform cleavage-based platform, but rather having to appeal to members of the group that are spread throughout the groups created by other cleavages.

The term was used in 1967 by 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:...

, in the chapter Geography, Religion, and Social Class: Cross-cutting Cleavages in Norwegian Politics, which was a part of the book Party Systems and Voter Alignments, written together with Seymour Martin Lipset

Seymour 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...

.

Later uses include Walter Dean Burnham

Walter Dean Burnham

Walter Dean Burnham is a leading expert on American elections and voting patterns. He is best known for quantitative analysis of national trends and patterns in the popular vote, in developing the "Party Systems" model, and for assembling county election returns for the whole...

 in 1975, who noted the decline of economic issues in relation to the social issues. The term was also applied to the United States presidential election, 2000

United States presidential election, 2000

The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....

, regarding George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 of the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 party v. Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

 of the Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

party.