The Changing Cleavage Politics of Western Europe

Abstract

How are the contours of Western European politics shifting? To what extent do these shifts reflect changes in the underlying social and economic structure of European polities? In this article, we reflect on insights from the classic literature on how cleavages structure party systems and consider how the emergence and persistence of new parties and new ideological conflicts are leading to both shifts of dividing lines of party competition and the fragmentation of party systems. While increasing attention has been given to the so-called second dimension of European electoral politics, we highlight the relatively limited focus on structural changes that are helping to drive this transformation. We identify some socio-demographic developments that are potentially generating new cleavages in Western European democracies: the expansion of higher education; mass migration and the growing ethnic diversity of electorates; the aging of societies and sharpening of generational divides; and increased geographical segregation of populations between prospering, globalized major cities and declining hinterlands.

Populism, Democracy, and Party System Change in Europe

“…anti-immigration positions and authoritarian values of strongly TAN parties , Oesch 2008; for an insightful overview, see Ford & Jennings 2020). Some far right parties have also used antiestablishment appeals rooted in opposition to the clientelism of established parties to attract middle-class professional voters (Katz & Mair 1995, Kitschelt 2002.…”

Conceptualizing homonationalism: (Re‐)Formulation, application, and debates of expansion

“…One challenge for empirical social scientists is whether and how to incorporate the theoretical and substantive issues emerging from the concept of homonationalism in their work. These issues have long roots in social‐political theory, and the recent rise in right‐wing populist nationalism has led to a wave of new studies on links between various forms of social intolerance and political constructions of the nation‐state (see e.g., Bonikowski, 2016; Ford & Jennings, 2020; Halikiopoulou, Mock, & Vasilopoulou, 2013). So far, empirical studies have yet to fully adopt the language of homonationalism, even as some findings suggest relevant connections (Ayoub & Paternotte, 2014; Bolzendahl & Gracheva, 2018; Kehl, 2018; Štulhofer & Rimac, 2009).…”

Changes in society and young people’s mental health1

“…Cultural conflicts between socially conservative and socially liberal groupings have increasingly affected politics; for critical discussion of the socio-demographics of emerging political alignments see e.g. McCall and Orloff (2017) and Ford and Jennings (2020). In the midst of these conflicts, 'post-truth' has appeared.…”