Political Cleavages
Background
Political cleavage and the idea of conflicts as an integral element in the creation and sustenance of political systems was first formulated by Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan in 1967. They stress on the idea of historical conflicts as the primary reason for the manner in which political parties emerge and create their voter base. This is relatively true, as seen in the political, social, economic and religious agenda which informs party organization and doctrine and the impact of political cleavages on political participation and electoral volatility is significant. Cleavages, in the political context can be understood as political divisions which comprise three elements, “(1) a social structural element, such as class, religious denominations, status or education, (2) an element of collective identity of this social group, and (3) an organizational manifestation in the form of collective action or a durable organization of the social groups concerned.” (Bornschier 2009). The previous year (2016) has been the year of great upsets and across the world much conventional wisdom has been turned upon its head, ensuring that political and social predictions have been proven false by an …show more content…
At the same time, political behaviour and electoral volatility across the world have been transformed by changes in the social, economic and political structures across the world. Research into the idea of political cleavage has stressed upon the social, economic, religious and cultural attitudes which are inherent in electoral practices, but recent scholarship, in the wake of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump stresses upon the idea of cultural backlash, as seen in the work of Ronald F Inglehart and Pippa
Background
Political cleavage and the idea of conflicts as an integral element in the creation and sustenance of political systems was first formulated by Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan in 1967. They stress on the idea of historical conflicts as the primary reason for the manner in which political parties emerge and create their voter base. This is relatively true, as seen in the political, social, economic and religious agenda which informs party organization and doctrine and the impact of political cleavages on political participation and electoral volatility is significant. Cleavages, in the political context can be understood as political divisions which comprise three elements, “(1) a social structural element, such as class, religious denominations, status or education, (2) an element of collective identity of this social group, and (3) an organizational manifestation in the form of collective action or a durable organization of the social groups concerned.” (Bornschier 2009). The previous year (2016) has been the year of great upsets and across the world much conventional wisdom has been turned upon its head, ensuring that political and social predictions have been proven false by an …show more content…
At the same time, political behaviour and electoral volatility across the world have been transformed by changes in the social, economic and political structures across the world. Research into the idea of political cleavage has stressed upon the social, economic, religious and cultural attitudes which are inherent in electoral practices, but recent scholarship, in the wake of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump stresses upon the idea of cultural backlash, as seen in the work of Ronald F Inglehart and Pippa