Cleavage Formation in the 21st Century: How Social Identities Shape Voting Behavior in Contexts of Electoral Realignment

by Simon Bornschier, Lukas Haffert, Silja Häusermann

Western Europe is experiencing growing levels of political polarization between parties of the New Left and the Far Right. The authors argue that this antagonism reflects the emergence of a social cleavage between universalism and particularism. To understand cleavage formation in the midst of party system fragmentation and the proliferation of new competitors, they emphasize the crucial role of group identities. Anchored in social structure, group...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1009475924
• ISBN13: 9781009475921
• Release Date: December 2024
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 75 Pages