Parties; Political cleavages Research Papers (original) (raw)

The Euroscepticism of contemporary populist parties is analysed starting from contemporary political literature (Mudde and Taggart). In this article the question about the creation of a new political cleavage between anti-Eu and pro-Eu parties is discussed, along with an articulation of the Eu scepticism into a right-winf and a left-wing criticism.

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- Populism, Parties; Political cleavages, EU-Scepticism

This is a review of my co-edited volume by Gianluca Passarelli, political scientist at Sapienza University in Rome.

- by Cedric de Leon and +2
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- Sociology, Political Sociology, American Politics, Comparative Politics

The political landscape in Sweden has undergone considerable changes in recent decades The number of political parties in the Swedish parliament has increased from five to eight, and the socio-economic issues of the traditional political right–left scale has been challenged by socio- cultural issues relating to lifestyle and identity. Notably, the notion of Swedish exceptionalism and the particularities of its welfare state is lingering despite findings pointing in the opposite direction e.g. with the increased electoral support for the radical right, and its ethno-nationalist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. The corporatist model has been challenged by new forms of poli- tical authority, participation and representation. New political actors, such as social movements and civil society actors, think tanks and policy professionals, are becoming increasingly engaged in political processes. The long-term trend suggests that traditionally marginalised groups, such as the young, women and groups of migrant background, are represented in decision-making forums to a higher degree than before. Yet, current conditions need further analysis. In this article, we provide a background to Sociologisk Forskning’s special issue on the political landscape of the parliamentary election in 2018.

U literaturi se već nekoliko decenija govori o opadanju značaja društvenih rascepa za političko ponašanje, dok vrednosne i/ili kulturološke podele sve više dobijaju na političkom značaju. Prema nekim koncepcijama u osnovi ideološko-vrednosnih podela, poput distinkcije autoritarno-libertarijansko, leže razlike u obrazovnom nivou. Potvrda ovakvih teza uglavnom dolazi iz zapadno-evropskih zemalja, gde je veza obrazovanja i klasnog statusa drugačija nego u bivšim komunističkim društvima. Predmet ovog rada jeste značaj obrazovnog nivoa kao determinante izborne odluke, kao i povezanost nivoa obrazovanja sa autoritarno-libertarijanskim stavovima u Srbiji i Crnoj Gori. Empirijsku osnovu rada čini serija istraživanja javnog mnenja koja su u Srbiji sprovođena u periodu 1990-2012. godine (ukupno 9 studija), odnosno od 2005. do 2015. godine u Crnoj Gori (11 studija). Rezultati analize ukazuju na to da među pristalicama različitih političkih partija kako u Srbiji tako i u Crnoj Gori postoje značajne razlike u obrazovnom nivou. U oba slučaja su, takođe, registrovane značajne povezanosti između nivoa obrazovanja i autoritarno-libertarijanskih stavova koja značajno razlikuju pristalice političkih partija. Međutim, razlike u obrazovanju se u Srbiji jasnije povezuju za dominantni vrednosno-kulturološki rascep, dok je u Crnoj Gori obrazovanje mnogo manje relevantno, uz tendenciju opadanja sa vremenom. U završnom delu rezultati su diskutovani u kontekstu opštijeg teorijskog problema, ali i iz perspektive potpunijeg razumevanja političkih podela u Crnoj Gori i Srbiji.

- by Olivera Komar and +1
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- Political Sociology, Education, Electoral Behavior, Parties; Political cleavages

Depuis quelques années, le vote d'extrême droite progresse dans de nombreux pays européens. Si dans certains d'entre eux, il s'agit d'une manifestation récente, dans d'autres pays, l'extrême droite a connu un enracinement certain. Ainsi, en Belgique, en France ou en Autriche, les partis d'extrême droite font désormais partie de l'échiquier politique. Ces formations influencent profondément les débats politiques et pèsent sur les orientations gouvernementales. Cela est particulièrement vrai sur des thèmes tels que l'identité nationale, la sécurité intérieure, les politiques sociales, l'intégration des étrangers et les flux migratoires. Le présent ouvrage aborde l'extrême droite en France et en Belgique de manière comparative, ce qui constitue sa principale originalité. En effet, cinq sujets identiques guident les analyses réalisées respectivement sur le Front national en France, le Vlaams Blok en Flandre et le Front national dans la partie francophone de la Belgique. La première question a trait aux étapes de la formation de ces partis, à leur identité politique, à leur organisation et leur personnel politique et, enfin, à leur enracinement progressif. Le deuxième sujet, qui est très souvent oublié mais qui nous renseigne sur leur filiation idéologique, porte sur leur programme économique et social. Le troisième thème concerne l'électorat des partis d'extrême droite et vise à donner une analyse nuancée, capable de restituer l'hétérogénéité des groupes qui votent pour les partis d'extrême droite. Le quatrième champ analyse des effets de la progression des partis d'extrême droite sur les autres formations politiques. Enfin, la cinquième problématique évoque la situation de deux villes sous l'emprise des partis d'extrême droite, Toulon à l'heure du Front National et Anvers à portée de main du Vlaams Blok. Ces deux monographies nous montrent aussi ce que signifie ou peut signifier l'administration de la collectivité par des partis d'extrême droite.

- by Pascal Delwit
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- Comparative Politics, French History, Political Parties, French Studies

""During the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine, the second largest country in Europe came close to a violent break-up similar to that in neighboring Moldova, which witnessed a violent secession of the Transdniestria region. Numerous elections, including the hotly contested 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine, and surveys of public opinion showed significant regional divisions in these post-Soviet countries. Western parts of Ukraine and Moldova, as well as the Muslim Crimean Tatars, were vocal supporters of independence, nationalist, and pro-Western parties and politicians. In contrast, Eastern regions, as well as the Orthodox Turkic-speaking Gagauz, consistently expressed pro-Russian and pro-Communist political orientations. Which factors ? historical legacies, religion, economy, ethnicity, or political leadership ? could explain these divisions? Why was Ukraine able to avoid a violent break-up, in contrast to Moldova?
This is the first book to offer a systematic and comparative analysis of the regional political divisions in post-Soviet Ukraine and Moldova. The study examines voting behavior and political attitudes in two groups of regions: those which were under Russian, Ottoman, and Soviet rule; and those which were under Austro-Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, and Czechoslovak rule until World War I or World War II. This book attributes the regional political divisions to the differences in historical experience. This study helps us to better understand regional cleavages and conflicts, not only in Ukraine and Moldova, but also in other cleft countries.""

- by Pascal Delwit
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- Politics, Federalism, Democracy, Political History of Belgium

The 'Alternative for Germany' (AfD), just like other European right-wing parties, is often reduced to an anti-immigration stance, while its potential attraction for (white and non-white) immigrants and their descendants has been mostly... more

- by Albrecht Hänig
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- Race and Ethnicity, Populism, Racism, Germany

This study analyzes changes in regional electoral behavior and foreign policy attitudes in Ukraine after “Orange Revolution.” The research question is whether the public support for major groups of political parties and presidential candidates and attitudes towards principal foreign policy issues in regions of Ukraine have changed after the “Orange Revolution.” This article employs comparative and statistical analyses of voting results of the 2007, 2006, and 2002 parliamentary elections, the 2010 local elections, and the 2004 and 2010 presidential elections, and survey data to examine effects of regional political culture, compared to other factors, on support for pro-nationalist/pro-Western and pro-Russian/pro-communist political parties and presidential candidates. This study also uses survey data to analyze changes in attitudes towards NATO, the European Union, and a union with Russia in regions of Ukraine and a change in separatist preferences in Crimea. The analysis shows that Ukraine after the “Orange Revolution” remained divided along regional lines in terms of support for political parties and presidential candidates and attitudes towards foreign orientation.

- by Ivan Katchanovski
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- Political Sociology, Area Studies, Eastern European Studies, European Studies

This dissertation examines the impact of the Eurozone crisis on electoral behaviour in all EU member states individually, as opposed to an aggregate analysis. This approach is based on the theoretical argument that EP elections should be viewed as 28 separate national elections and aggregate results do not accurately reflect European voter shift. It concludes that the crisis has had an impact on individual member states in terms of turnout and party systems. Furthermore, we can observe a European wide increase in new political parties in the entire political spectrum and a rise in cast blank votes. The dissertation further concludes that the perceived rise of populist parties in Europe is not due to a rise in resentment for Europe, but due to frustrations with national governments. This is backed by evidence that national issues are still the main political driver on all political levels.

Stojanović, Boban (2012), “Socijalni i politički rascepi - teorijski okvir i slučaj Srbije”, u: Studentski godišnjak, God.2; Br.2, Beograd: Fakultet političkih nauka, str. 89 - 100. Rad se bavi socijalnim i političkim rascepima,... more

- by Pascal Delwit
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- European History, Political Sociology, European Studies, Comparative Politics

This article examines determinants of persistent regional political cleavages in post-Communist Ukraine. The question is how significant the role of culture is compared to ethnic, economic, and religious factors in the regional divisions. This study employs correlation, factor, and regression analyses of regional support for the Communist/pro-Russian parties and presidential candidates and pro-nationalist/pro-independence parties and candidates in all national elections held from 1991 to 2006, the vote for the preservation of the Soviet Union in the March 1991 referendum, and the vote for the independence of Ukraine in the December 1991 referendum. This study shows that the pattern of these regional differences remained relatively stable from 1991 to 2006. Historical experience has a major effect on regional electoral behavior in post-Communist Ukraine. The legacy of Austro-Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, and Czechoslovak rule is positively associated with the pro-nationalist and pro-independence vote; the same historical legacy has a negative effect on support for pro-Communist and pro-Russian parties and presidential candidates and on the vote for the preservation of the Soviet Union.

Depuis quelques années, le PTB – le PVDA en Flandre – défraie la chronique politique et médiatique. Le Parti du travail est parvenu à s’imposer comme un interlocuteur, désormais régulier, de la presse audiovisuelle et écrite, et a décroché des résultats d’estime aux élections fédérales de 2010 et aux scrutins communal et provincial de 2012. Paradoxalement pourtant, le PTB – parti marxiste-léniniste et maoïste né dans les années 1960 – est tout sauf un nouveau parti.
C’est à la suite d’une grave crise interne, après les élections de mai 2003, que le PTB décide d’adopter une toute nouvelle stratégie de communication. Il s’agit désormais d’occulter les éléments qui « fâchent » – son identité marxiste-léniniste, sa proximité avec certains régimes, son projet révolutionnaire, sa piètre considération envers la démocratie représentative – et de ne présenter aux citoyens et aux médias que la « face lumineuse » du parti.
Fruit d’un long travail de recherche enrichi par les interviews de nouveaux et d’anciens militants, cet ouvrage présente l’histoire du PTB et de son réseau d’organisations, le contexte qui a présidé à sa naissance, et propose une analyse spécifique de ce parti dans la période contemporaine.

- by Andreas Ufen
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- Southeast Asian Studies, Indonesian Studies, Southeast Asia, Indonesian Politics
- by Adrián Albala
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- Latin American Studies, Political Coalitions, Argentina, Chile

España es un país en el que el cleavage nacionalista tiene una importancia fundamental para entender los sistemas de partidos y las dinámicas de competición electoral en algunas comunidades autónomas. Este artículo realiza un análisis de las bases electorales de los principales partidos nacionalistas en España y, concretamente, centra su interés en las bases electorales de Coalición Canaria (CC). Este partido, a pesar de su importancia en el nivel regional, ha recibido una escasa atención por la literatura académica. En este trabajo se confirma la idea de que CC es un partido capaz de movilizar a un electorado cuyas preferencias se inclinan por una forma de organización territorial más descentralizada que la actual. Sin embargo, el principal hallazgo consiste en que, a diferencia de lo que sucede con los principales partidos nacionalistas en España, el sentimiento de identidad asociado a la comunidad autónoma no resulta un factor explicativo del voto a CC, evidenciando así que la identidad canaria no está políticamente activada.

This paper introduces a crucial dimension for the spatial and comparative analysis of party systems, cleavages, and the conduct of political campaigns. It presents the concepts of “high” and “low” in politics, and the related high-low dimension. High and low are about ways of appealing, and thus relating, to people in sociologically differentiated ways. Politicians on the high are “well behaved,” more restrained, and proper, both in manners and institutional procedures. Politicians on the low sublimate less and are more down-to-earth, coarser, earthier, and personalistic, both in manners and institutionally. The high-low dimension is fully neutral, or orthogonal, with regard to the left-right axis. We argue that this is in sharp contrast to Kitschelt’s authoritarian/libertarian divide or to Inglehart’s materialist/post-materialist political cleavage. The paper also provides a solid conceptual discussion of the classic and quasi universal polarities of left and right, which (like the high-low axis) is in fact comprised of two subdimensions.
Together, the high-low and left-right dimensions form a two-dimensional space of politics, highly useful for characterizing certain political arenas and political strategies. The concept of “low” moreover provides a much-needed, uncontroversial, and highly intuitive central component of the definition of populism. It also brings to the fore the neglected phenomenon of anti-populism. Finally, the paper illustrates the relevance of the high-low dimension in Argentina, with its “double political spectrum” divided between Peronism and anti-Peronism, Venezuela with Chavismo and anti-Chavismo, and Ecuador.

The paper was seeking explanation for several exceptional features that made the Latvian and Estonian party politics stand apart from the CEE mainstream. These peculiar features were: (1) the marginalized position or virtual absence of communist successor-parties; (2) weakness of the left-wing parties (social democrats and socialists) and ideologically unbalanced party competition, in which the right-wing parties have assumed a very dominant position; (3) the cleavage
constellation in which ethnic cleavage is effectively merged with the communistanti-communist cleavage constituting a unique combination for CEE countries. It appeared that both the institutional and the party-system-centred approaches were insufficient to providing an adequate explanation to these peculiarities. Therefore
the remaining part of the study was focused on the sociological approach, more precisely on cleavages. The author turned to an elaborated theory proposed by Herbert Kitschelt which concentrated on the cleavage formation in the postcommunist party systems while linking it with the impact of communist regime legacies. The regime legacies and the history seem to be highly relevant for the
Baltic states, because their dramatic experiences with the Soviet rule and the profound demographic changes they witnessed at that time.

- by Tõnis Saarts
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- Political Parties, Baltic States, Parties; Political cleavages, Social Cleavages
- by Rafael Leonisio
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- Basque Studies, Parties; Political cleavages, Basque Politics, Social Cleavages

The political landscape in Sweden has undergone considerable changes in recent decades The number of political parties in the Swedish parliament has increased from five to eight, and the socioeconomic issues of the traditional political right–left scale has been challenged by socio-cultural issues relating to lifestyle and identity. Notably, the notion of Swedish exceptionalism and the particularities of its welfare state is lingering despite findings pointing in the opposite direction e.g. with the increased electoral support for the radical right, and its ethno-nationalist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. The corporatist model has been challenged by new forms of political authority, participation and representation. New political actors, such as social movements and civil society actors, think tanks and policy professionals, are becoming increasingly engaged in political processes. The long-term trend suggests that traditionally marginalised groups, such as the young, women and groups of migrant background, are represented in decision-making forums to a higher degree than before. Yet, current conditions need further analysis. In this article, we provide a background to Sociologisk Forskning's special issue on the political landscape of the parliamentary election in 2018.

- by Gabriella Elgenius and +1
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- Political Sociology, Political Extremism/Radicalism/Populism, Nationalism, Social Class
- by Tomasz Zarycki
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- Parties; Political cleavages, Polish Politics

Après la phase d’émergence et d’installation dans les années quatre-vingt, les partis écologistes semblent avoir franchi des étapes. La première est d’avoir su s’installer durablement dans les différents paysages politiques nationaux. Nombre d’entre eux ont aujourd’hui de dix à vingt années d’existence. Il s’agit donc de formations politiques institutionnalisées et souvent présentes dans les enceintes parlementaires. Les questions qui avaient fondé la naissance et l’identité des partis verts ont aussi changé. La question énergétique se pose dans des termes différents, tout comme la problématique des pollutions et des atteintes à l’environnement. D’un point de vue inversé, les partis écologistes ont le plus souvent « complété » leur programme ou leur approche. D’une préoccupation initialement centrée sur la problématique environnementale, plusieurs ont largement renforcé leurs réflexions, leurs programmes et leurs actions sur des axes nouveaux; en particulier les questions économiques et sociales. Dans le domaine politique, ces évolutions ont conduit à des performances électorales contrastées mais surtout, depuis près de trois ans, aux premières expériences gouvernementales. Aujourd’hui, quatre formations vertes sont au pouvoir : en Finlande (1995), en Italie (1996), en France (1997) et en Allemagne (1998). Par ailleurs, la participation au pouvoir de partis verts, aux échelons communaux ou régionaux, n’est plus un fait exceptionnel. Comment ce processus s’est-il déroulé, quels en sont les tenants et aboutissants à l’échelle de chaque parti et quelles sont leurs perspectives ? Comment caractériser les partis verts ? Telles sont les problématiques développées au cœur de cet ouvrage qui rassemble des contributions des meilleurs experts européens en la matière.

- by Tomasz Zarycki
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- Poland, Electoral Geography, Parties; Political cleavages, Polish Politics
- by Ondrej Cisar
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- Political Sociology, Social Movements, Comparative Politics, Political Parties

The main goal of the paper is to discuss various interpretations of the heritage created during the so-called ‘partition’ of Poland in the 19th century and the ways of its possible reproduction. This goal will be achieved by analyzing patterns of Poland’s electoral geography, which is known for its considerable stability. After a discussion of the historical background and a summary of the main patterns of the country’s electoral geography, the main types of dominating interpretations of the reproduction of structures, brought about in the Polish space during the period of its partitions in the 19th century, will be discussed. The paper will show how the recent transformation of the Polish political scene, which happened about 2005–2007, affected both the structures of the electoral geography and the dominant ways of its interpretation. As it will be argued, the above mentioned changes have emphasized the role of the East-West differentiation of the Polish space. The rise to prominence of that dimension was also related to the emergence of a number of new interpretations, many of which could be seen as heavily relying on orientalistic stereotypes, including those of the very negative images related to the heritage of the Russian rule. These mainstream interpretations, based on models of opposition between the positive Western “civilization” and the negative Eastern (Russian) “backwardness”, will be confronted with what seems to be a more nuanced view on the basic East-West split of the Polish space. The proposed model will be an attempt to apply the theory of different types of capital by Pierre Bourdieu. In particular, Eastern Poland and its heritage of the Austrian and Russian rule will be presented as more cultural-capital oriented, while Western Poland and its heritage of the Prussian rule - as more economic-capital oriented. In this way the paper will propose a new, more general model of analysis of the spatial longue-durée effects.

In the framework of this special issue on religion and politics in post-revolutionary Tunisia, this contribution offers to step back from the immediate debate on the negotiation and adoption of new constitutional rules so as to question the dominant narrative according to which religion constitutes the main source of cleavage in Tunisian politics. The logical conclusion of this narrative is that the main fault line in the domestic party landscape lies between the Islamist party Ennahdha and a number of secular parties, notably Nidaa Tounes/Union for Tunisia and the Popular Front. Drawing from the pioneering work of Lipset and Rokkan (1967) on party systems, this article tests the relevance of the religious cleavage by comparing the declarations and voting records of the three most important party blocks on a number of economic issues. Without downplaying the importance of religious factors, the analysis conducted in this article suggests that, in economic matters, the main fault line in the Tunisian party landscape is not between religious and secular forces but rather between supporters and opponents of structural adjustment programmes and of neoliberal reform agendas.

- by GLAUCIO SOARES
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- Political Parties, Parties; Political cleavages, Democracia, Partidos políticos

El nacionalismo vasco tiene una importancia crucial en la política navarra, aunque en la
mayoría de ocasiones las encuestas realizadas en la Comunidad Foral no han tenido en
cuenta la dimensión vasca de cara al análisis de su opinión pública. En este trabajo, tras
constatar la importancia de lo vasco en Navarra y resaltar su sorprendente ausencia en
los cuestionarios en dicha comunidad, se pretende hacer una aproximación a cuáles son
las bases electorales de los partidos nacionalistas vascos en Navarra. Además, también
se evalúa la posibilidad de un sorpasso a la derecha e izquierda navarra por parte de este
bloque político.

- by Rafael Leonisio
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- Basque Studies, Nationalism, Electoral Studies, Parties; Political cleavages
- by Adrián Albala
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- Social Movements, Chile, Movimientos sociales, Parties; Political cleavages
- by Rafael Leonisio
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- Globalization, Basque Studies, Parties; Political cleavages, Basque Politics

"This article seeks to identify and describe the relationship between the divisions of party system and social structure in Turkey from a historical–institutional perspective by applying the operational logic of cleavage theory to the Turkish case.
The results of this article reveal that Turkey has a distinct historical legacy, resulting in the emergence of some significant cleavages. In addition the paper displays the reflection of these societal cleavages and revealed that not all cleavages are directly
reflected in the Turkish party system. Thus the article demonstrates that a Turkish party system is the institutionalizing of a complex arrangement of alliances between significant societal cleavages, which can also change. Generally speaking we can state that socio historical approaches like the cleavage theory are appropriate to explain party system developments in non-European regions."

- by Cüneyd Dinc
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- Political Sociology, Social Movements, Political Parties, Modern Turkey
- by Pascal Delwit
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- Voting Behavior, Political Parties, Religion and Politics, Politics
- by dusan spasojevic and +1
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- Serbian Politics, Parties; Political cleavages, Social Cleavages

Georgia has held several important elections from the beginning of 2008, culminating in the fall of 2012 when an opposition political group defeated the ruling party. As competitive elections are relatively new to Georgia, a substantial amount of literature is dedicated to the problems of voting in that country. This chapter investigates how particular theories of voting, especially the cleavage model of Seymour M. Lipset and Stein Rokkan (1967), may be applied to the case of Georgia. The main argument is that political cleavages can be identified; however, their origins differ from those suggested by Lipset and Rokkan. It is argued that the political cleavages in Georgia are the products of the country’s recent historical experience – urbanization and ethnic alienation.

- by David Sichinava
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- Democracy, Elections, Postcommunist studies, Electoral Geography
- by Jakob Tanner
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- Contemporary History, Politics, Nationalism, History of Switzerland
- by Tomasz Zarycki
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- Poland, Electoral Geography, Parties; Political cleavages

Artykuł przedstawia syntezę geografii wyborczej Polski i Czech dokonaną na bazie analizy wyników niedawnych wyborów parlamentarnych i prezydenckich. W celu wyróżnienia głównych osi podziałów polityczno-przestrzennych posłużono się analizą... more

Over the last 30 years, trends such as service sector growth, welfare state expansion and rising female participation rates have promoted increasing heterogeneity within the occupational system. Accordingly, this article argues that the
class map has to be redrawn in order to grasp these changes in the employment structure. For that purpose, it develops the bases of a new class schema that partly shifts its focus from hierarchical divisions to horizontal cleavages. The middle
class is not conceptualized as a unitary grouping and the manual/non-manual divide is not used as a decisive class boundary. Instead, emphasis is put on differences in marketable skills and the work logic. The schema is expected to more accurately reflect the class location of unskilled service employees and to make visible the political divide within the salaried middle class. This expectation is empirically examined with survey data from Britain, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. Findings for earnings and promotion prospects indicate that the schema successfully captures the hierarchical dimension in the class structure. Moreover, results for party support and union membership suggest that the schema grasps a salient horizontal cleavage between managers and sociocultural professionals.

- by Daniel Oesch
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- Comparative Politics, Class (Sociology), Social Class, Electoral Studies

The chapter attempts to give a general picture of the thought and the scientific contribution of Stein Rokkan, one of the most influential social scientists of the twentieth century. It provides an overview of both his theory on the formation of States and nations in Europe and his research on the development of party systems. The former topic is treated into the first part of the work, whereas the second part deals with the latter

- by Michelangelo Vercesi
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- Sociology, Social Theory, Sociology of Culture, Cultural Policy