Hoorcollege 6: The social origins of parties: cleavages

Question 1

Two approaches to classifying party systems

Answer 1

1. Traditional comparative approach: aims to categorise party systems into distinct classes or types, for example two-party systems. Using this approach, party systems barely change, because a change of party system involves the case moving from one category to the other. The conditions for this to happen are very strict, so it rarely happens.
2. The other approach doesn’t use classification, but uses continuous numeric variables to ‘summarise’ or ‘define’ the party system. These variables are almost always based on a calculation of the number and relative size of the parties present in the system. With this approach, differences in party systems are a matter of degree rather than of kind, so party system change is a continuous phenomenon. It does not specify, however, what kind of change is happening.

Question 2

When does a party system change?

Answer 2

When there is a change in the structure of competition.

Question 3

How can party competition change

Answer 3

1. Change in the prevailing pattern of alternation in government
2. The extent to which the governing alternatives in the system prove stable or consistent over time, or whether they involve innovative alternatives.
3. The question of who governs and to which extent is the access to government open to a wide range of parties or limited to a smaller subset of established governing parties.

Question 4

Party system

Answer 4

Parties as parts of a whole and that they get their identity from their relationships with other parties, also debate that it is related to cleavages (bottom-up). Party systems as systems of competition.

Question 5

Cleavages

Answer 5

From the demand side. Basis of political mobilisation. Deep structural divides that persists through time and through generations (class, ethnicity, religion). It’s different from an issue. Give structure to the party systems.

Question 6

How are cleavages different than an issue?

Answer 6

Issue can be absorbed into a larger structure. Larger cleavages can embody larger issues within it.

Question 7

Three components to cleavages

Answer 7

1. They have to have an objective reality
2. A subjective identification
3. Have to be institutionalised or politically mobilised

Question 8

Objective reality cleavages

Answer 8

There has to be an objective problem (grievance) or division in society. Individuals who would like the church to play less of a role in society vs individuals who want the church to continue to play a role in society.

Question 9

Subjective identification cleavages

Answer 9

Individuals have to be aware of this division. It has meaning or relevance to them.

Question 10

Cleavages have to be institutionalised or politically mobilised

Answer 10

There has to be an institutionalisation of the cleavage → political party, union or social movement. Gets institutionalised because it gets mobilised.
Treshold for a cleavage is quite high. It is important for this to happen because a cleavage has to structure the system.

Question 11

Four sets of cleavages that are the basis of our party systems

Answer 11

1. Church-state
2. Centre-periphery
3. Urban-rural
4. Worker-owner
   These came out of the national and industrial revolution

Question 12

National revolution

Answer 12

How states become states

Question 13

Cleavages that the national revolution has created

Answer 13

1. Church-state
2. Centre-periphery

Question 14

How was the church-state cleavage created

Answer 14

As states become states (1600s-1800s), it is about power and centralisation. Authority who tries to centralise their power, has to do with survival (states become the dominant form). Fight over power with the church. In catholic countries this emerges into a cleavage because in society there is a resistance to this centralisation.

Question 15

How was the centre-periphery cleavage created

Answer 15

Battle between small princes and other people in power, through force and marriage centralisation happens. Some states have capacity to do this (military, coercion, taxes), in others less and here is where the cleavage emerges (think of Spain and Catalonia). More variation between states.

Question 16

Cleavages that the industrial revolution has created

Answer 16

1. Urban-rural
2. Worker-owner

Question 17

How was the urban-rural cleavage created?

Answer 17

Tension between the urban and the rural (early industrialisation), as production moves to the city and an economy emerges here, a division emerges between the city and countryside. This becomes more uniform, more universal.

Question 18

How was the worker-owner cleavage created?

Answer 18

At heart of the industrialisation, in all countries. Factory workers moving to the cities and working vs the ones who own the means of production.

Question 19

Four cleavages form four party systems

Answer 19

1. Left-right (UK, worker-owner)
2. Left-right with overlapping religious cleavages (GR, NL, IT): Christian democrats, workers and business men. Vote for religious party, so overlapping of religion.
3. Left-right with overlapping regional cleavages (SP): Regional identity. Opposing parties, but same on regional side so it trumps worker-owner cleavage.
4. Left-right with larger farmer-liberal versions (Scandinavia)
   Same thing, urban-rural. Small agrarian parties.
   Worker-owner creates similarity while the others create difference between party systems.

Question 20

Why is worker-owner the dominant cleavage in UK?

Answer 20

This is because of early industrialisation/land owning classes absorbed as productive/church divide resolved internalised.

Question 21

Do these cleavages still hold?

Answer 21

No on one hand, because new cleavages are emerging. It does explain persisting cleavages.

Question 22

1970s rise of post-material values consequence for cleavages

Answer 22

Cleavages started to dissolve because of rise of post material values. Voting becomes issue based. Rise of new cleavages.

Question 23

Society changes in 1970s

Answer 23

1. Rise of the welfare state → whole new form of employment and a new middle class (teachers, doctors, bureaucrats etc.)
2. Women started to work more.
3. Nature of working class starts to change (what kind of work you do/money you make).
4. Process of secularisation.
5. More young people going to university (huge impact).
6. Globalisation.

Question 24

Party system changes 1970s

Answer 24

Old party identities start to become weaker, class begins to change and starts to become more fragmented. However, the whole system isn’t completely abandoned. Working class still tend to vote social dem and religious christian dem. This support is however not exclusive anymore, and this class becomes smaller. Old system fizzles out, doesn’t disappear. There is de-aligment: voters become more volatile

Question 25

How do we explain these changes in the 1970s/party system

Answer 25

Post-material values: Whole new generation coming about; student protests, environmental issues, identity questions → younger people have different values. Older generation more concerned with economical growth and younger generation more with quality of life. Puzzle here is that these people are highly educated and middle class so they should have high trust in government, however, they have high mistrust in the government.

Question 26

Scarcity and socialisation hypothesis

Answer 26

Sccarcity hypothesis about the hierarchy of needs. Individuals need to fulfill their most basic needs, once these are fulfilled they will be able to fulfill higher order needs (food, shelter, security and then the rest). This leads to socialisation hypothesis. During formative years one develops ones needs/core values. In times of scarcity and insecurity you have more material values. In times of less scarcity and more security you have more post-material values.

Question 27

What are post-material values?

Answer 27

Post-material values are about self-realisation, challenging authority. Often related to specific issues such as the environment, questions of identity, local participation. It is generational, not individual. Older generations become more material. Younger generations become more post-material.

Question 28

New dimensions of post-material values

Answer 28

Rise of new types of values that determine politics. We see that a new dimension becomes more important → liberal-cultural dimension. This has consequences for political affiliations, it divides the left (new left-green left). It means that some left-wing voters go right (neo-conservatism), due to material values.
Means that there is a rise of a new dimension, leads to a realignment of politics.

Question 29

Are values really a cleavage?

Answer 29

Not per se. It becomes a cleavage when it gets institutionalised (new party). Some see it as dissolving of cleavages and belonging (cognitive mobilisation). Others think cleavages are still more important.

Question 30

Cognitive mobilisation theory

Answer 30

Voters have changed how they identify with political parties. This is due to the increase in education and level of political sophistication. This means that those who have higher political skills and resources tend to follow the cues of parties less and vote more focused on issues. This is especially the case among the younger voters, the new middle class and post-materialists, critical of authority, more volatile. Role of media and alternative forms of information.

Question 31

Block volatility

Answer 31

Volatility between blocks. Populist parties can pull voters from blocks.

Question 32

High volatility periods cause

Answer 32

Usually new populist parties, also a bit economic crises

Question 33

Two ways of looking at embedding voters

Answer 33

1. GAL-TAN approach
2. The demarcation and integration approach

Question 34

GAL-TAN approach

Answer 34

Green-Alternative-Liberal vs Traditional-Authoritarian-Nationalist. Politics two dimensional. Tension between GAL and TAN. EU integration here as a critical juncture. Embedded in larger issues of national identity. This leads to polarisation between highly educated, young, migrants, city dwellers and low skilled, old, nationalists, rural dwellers. GAL more cosmopolitan and TAN more nationalist. Replaces old left-right distinctions.

Question 35

Demarcation-integration approach

Answer 35

Along GAL-TAN, but emphasises economic and cultural dimension. Comes out of globalisation, not EU integration. Globalisation challenges the core of nation state and politics. Internationalisation of economy, politics and culture and this creates people becoming more open or closed. Demarcation and integration as new cleavage.