Political Cleavage: A Conceptual and Theoretical Analysis
01 Apr 1975-British Journal of Political Science (Cambridge University Press)-Vol. 5, Iss: 02, pp 231-248
TL;DR: In this view, concepts are neither right nor wrong but are more or less useful; their utility is determined by the twin and mutually dependent requirements of empirical precision and theoretical importance as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Abraham Kaplan in his ‘paradox of conceptualization’ draws attention to the fundamental problem of concept-formation: ‘The proper concepts are needed to formulate good theory, but we need a good theory to arrive at the proper concepts’. On this view, concepts are neither right nor wrong but are more or less useful; their utility is determined by the twin and mutually dependent requirements of empirical precision and theoretical importance. ‘Empirical precision’ has to do with a concept's ability to ‘carve up’ the world of phenomena without unnecessary ambiguities; ‘theoretical importance’ has to do with the utility of a concept in the development of statements of wide explanatory and predictive power.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors resolve a theoretical puzzle that characterizes the political preferences of members of social groups by demonstrating that political homogeneity is a variable to be explained, and that political preference is not a fixed variable.
Abstract: The authors resolve a theoretical puzzle that characterizes the political preferences of members of social groups by (a) demonstrating that political homogeneity is a variable to be explained, (b) ...
381 citations
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02 Dec 2009TL;DR: In this paper, a comparative and long-term in-depth analysis of the macro-historical process of the nationalization of politics is presented, using a large wealth of newly collected and unexplored data on single constituency in 17 West European countries, as well as their evolution since the mid-nineteenth century from highly territorialised politics of early competitive elections toward nationwide alignments.
Abstract: This comparative and long-term in-depth analysis studies the macro-historical process of the nationalization of politics. Using a large wealth of newly collected and unexplored data on single constituencies in 17 West European countries, the analysis reconstructs the territorial structures of electoral participation and support for political parties, as well as their evolution since the mid-nineteenth century from highly territorialised politics of early competitive elections toward nation-wide alignments. It provides a multi-pronged empirical analysis through time, across countries, and between party families. The inclusion of all the most importan social and political cleavages (class, state-church, rural-urban, ethno-linguistic, and religious) allows to assess the nationalising impact of the left-right dimension that emerged from the National and Industrial Revolutions, and the resistance of pre-industrial cultural and centre-periphery factors to national integration. State formation, institutional, and socio-political mobilisation models are combined with actor-centered explanatory factors to account for key evolutionary steps and differences between national types of territorial configurations of the vote.
331 citations
TL;DR: In the context of Latin American countries, this article found that strong labor movements and labor-backed parties were associated with superior economic performance during periods of economic adjustment, and that these nations typically experienced more severe economic crises during the transition from import-substitution industrialization to neoliberalism than nations that retained elitist party systems with "segmented, cross-class cleavage structures.
Abstract: Social inequalities have deepened in Latin America over the past several decades, yet an erosion of class cleavages has occurred in the political arena. During the era of import-substitution industrialization (ISI), “stratified” cleavage structures based on class distinctions emerged in a subset of Latin American countries where party systems were reconfigured by the rise of a mass-based, labor-mobilizing party. These nations typically experienced more severe economic crises during the transition from ISI to neoliberalism than nations that retained elitist party systems with “segmented,” cross-class cleavage structures. They also experienced greater political upheaval, as neoliberal critical junctures produced an erosion of stratified cleavages along their structural, organizational, and cultural dimensions in the labor-mobilizing cases, while leaving the segmented cleavages of elitist systems relatively unscathed. The Latin American experience differs from that of Europe, where strong labor movements and labor-backed parties were associated with superior economic performance during periods of economic adjustment. It also challenges Duverger's notion of an organizational “contagion from the Left,” as the dramatic weakening of labor movements and the shift away from mass-based party organizations have caused party systems to converge on elitist organizational models during the neoliberal era.
298 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of agency in cleavage formation is addressed, with a special emphasis on the mechanism through which political parties structure their environments, and it is shown that parties are potentially able to cross cleavage lines, re-structure relations within the party system and create new associations between party preferences, socio-structural categories and attitudes.
Abstract: Through the analysis of Hungarian politics, this article demonstrates how parties become embedded in the social, cognitive and emotive structures of societies. The role of agency in cleavage formation is addressed, with a special emphasis on the mechanism through which political parties structure their environments. Next to the popularization of conflict perceptions and the consolidation of camp identities, the development of a more elaborate and segmented organizational structure is identified as an integral part of the process of cleavage formation. Such a structure enables parties to forge coalitions among previously separate social groupings and combine group interests into packages large enough to overcome institutional thresholds of power. The findings indicate that parties are potentially able to cross cleavage lines, re-structure relations within the party system and create new associations between party preferences, socio-structural categories and attitudes. Furthermore, parties seem to be able to alter the relationships between psychologically rooted attitudes and social categories. The study also shows, however, that deep-seated socio-cultural divides limit the power of agency even in new democracies.
161 citations
Cites background from "Political Cleavage: A Conceptual an..."
...One can find calls for more elitist and voluntaristic approaches in the works of a number of theoreticians (Sartori 1969; Di Palma 1973; Zuckerman 1975), but it is relatively rare that empirical researchers pursue this perspective (but see Kitschelt 1994, 1995; Kitschelt et al. 1999; Przeworski &…...
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TL;DR: Since Lipset and Rokkan (1967) published their seminal work on the importance of social cleavages for the freezing of party systems more than forty years ago, much has been written on the field of political analysis as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Since Lipset and Rokkan (1967) published their seminal work on the importance of social cleavages for the ‘freezing’ of party systems more than forty years ago, much has been written on the field d...
131 citations
Cites background from "Political Cleavage: A Conceptual an..."
...In fact, following Lipset and Rokkan’s ambiguous use of the notion,2 the majority of studies published immediately afterwards simply limited themselves to presenting their own definition of the notion depending on the different analytical approach being adopted (Zuckerman, 1975)....
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1959
TL;DR: In this paper, the main questions which the present investigation is supposed to answer are: Do classes and class conflicts belong to that group of phenomena by which only the capitalist type of industrial society is characterized, or is their existence a consequence of industrial production itself, and are they therefore a lasting feature of industrial societies?
Abstract: One of the main questions which the present investigation is supposed to answer is: Do classes and class conflicts belong to that group of phenomena by which only the capitalist type of industrial society is characterized, or is their existence a consequence of industrial production itself, and are they therefore a lasting feature of industrial societies? This question will accompany us throughout the following analysis of changes in the structure of industrial societies since Marx.
1,660 citations
1,396 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors elaborate the patron-client model of association, developed largely by anthropologists, and demonstrate its applicability to political action in Southeast Asia, and examine both the survival and transformations in patron-clients links and the impact of major social changes such as the growth of markets, the expanded role of the state, and the creation of local regimes.
Abstract: The analysis presented here is an effort to elaborate the patron-client model of association, developed largely by anthropologists, and to demonstrate its applicability to political action in Southeast Asia. Inasmuch as patron-client structures are not unique to Southeast Asia but are much in evidence, particularly in Latin America, in Africa, and in less developed portions of Europe, the analysis may possibly have more general value for understanding politics in preindustrial societies. After defining the nature of patron-client ties and distinguishing them from other social ties, the paper discriminates among patron-client ties to establish the most important dimensions of variation, examines both the survival and transformations in patron-client links in Southeast Asia since colonialism and the impact of major social changes such as the growth of markets, the expanded role of the state, and the creation of local regimes. Finally, the paper shows how patron-client bonds interact with electoral politics to create distributive pressures which, in turn, often lead to inflationary fiscal policies and vulnerability of regimes to losses of revenue.
980 citations
856 citations