WHAT IS A POLITICAL CLEAVAGE - A CONCEPTU AL DEMARCATION

The concept of ''political cleavage'' has been a vital part of modern political science since the famous publication Party Systems and Voter Alignments by Seymour M. Lipset and Stein Rokkan appeared in 1967. Hi storically documented cleavages were the basis for analytical model co nstructions, which in turn provided the theoretical foundation for emp irical analyses of behavior and preferences. The Lipset/Rokkan model h as, however, been criticized for not giving an accurate description of historical events and processes. In recent years the model has, in ad dition, been criticized for not being able to capture recent trends in terms of dealignment and realignment. As a supplement to, or replacem ent of, the old model several new cleavages have been suggested. Neith er the original contributors nor their critics have explicitly defined the concept of political cleavage. This has clearly led to some confu sion in the scholarly debate. Stefano Bartolini and Peter Mair have gi ven a very perceptive explication of Lipset and Rokkan's cleavage mode l by emphasizing the following three aspects: the need for a socio-eco nomic basis for a cleavage, the building of a collective identity conn ected to the cleavage, and, finally, the establishment of organization al ties. Going back to the initial formulation of the cleavage model, it is clear that although socio-economic location historically has pla yed an important role, it is neither a sufficient nor a necessary cond ition for the establishment of a cleavage. With regard to the discussi on of new versus old cleavages, the Lipset/Rokkan model tells us that we should be careful not to neglect the importance of collective ident ity and institutional anchoring.