Cleavage Structures.pdf

CLEAVAGE $TRUCTURES, PARTY SYSTEMS, AND VOTER ALIGNMXNTS
deqlclons or the introduction of sornc variety of Proportional Representation?
/n *ira and final tet of qucationrbeari on the- behavior of- the mass ol
ra)ft party systems: How quickly were
the parties able to recruit support among the new m4sses of enfranchized
citizens, and what were the coie characteristics of the groups of voters mobilized
by each party? Which conditions helped and which conditions hindered
the mdbilizatj,6rdstt-ntfag1 p"rty wiGin ffi- @
tiiiienry? How quickly did -he cbapges in economic, social, and cultural
conditions brought about through eionomic growth or stagnation translate
themselves into ihanges in m@es of ihe parties? How
did political success affect the rates of mobilization and the inflow of new
supp[rt ruit new clienteles and
chiirge their folloivingi as they established their viability as useful channels of
influence in the decision-making processes?
Jlesb are some of the questions we hope to throw light on in this volume.
We have assembled
the economic, the social, and the
confront us with tasks of developmental comparison' to understand the current
alignments of voters behind each of the parties, we have to maP variations
in intlte the iauences g-e4uegqes*of of alternatives altqgatrver set for the active active and the passive citizens citizens- within
each iyite-Tince*itt" Em?ig"nc" of competitive politics. Parties do not
simolv simply orl:;nt prLjnt themselves de nbvo n-ovo to the citizen at each election; theY they each
have a history and so have the constellations of altematives they preselt to
the electorate. In single-nation studies we need,. go-1*q[y1ays take this -hjsto:y*.
into account in analyzing critt€iif-dli$ments: we assume that the parties are
equally visible "givens" to all the citizens within the nation. But as soon as
wL move in@ have to add anaristorical dimension.
We simply [annoi-mak. sense-of variations in current Aignments wiif,-ddf
detailed-dita on difterences in the sequences of party formation and in the
character of the alternatives presented to the electorates before and after the
extension oi the suffragc.t We have to carry out our comparative analyses in
several steps: we first have to consider the initial developments towald cop- -.
*ltlue-poiiUcr ana *r" insti xt must
i-tr;ntanli" t@s-iid oppositi on s which, produced the
nationallystem of mass organizations for electoral action, and then, and only
then, can-we make headway toward sone understanding of the forces producing
the cunent alignments of voters behind the historically given alternatives.ln
our Western democracies the voters are only rarely called uPon to
express their stands on single issues. They are typically faced with choices
adong historically given "packages" of programs, commitments, outlooks, and,
iO*"toOa-*ts."
ion of the
We shail fu$Ldlscus!- -2'
fithiq nitional political commun$i-l
The Political Party: Agent ol Conflict and Instrume)f;f Integration
..parry" has throughout the history of western- gd"*ttot :tTg,il,l di-
'i.i;; :""iil,,'.p-f.'J,itn;'ii;';'btdy politic'3'{'Partv" is etymologically
derived from "part" *d;i;;;il ilJ."ppJ"ita in nolitical'discourse in tbe late
Middle Ages has "f.,ruyr-i"iuio.A ttrir'refer"nce' to one set of elements in
comp,el!!q94-9r in controvlr's!'*ltf"t"itt"t tJ;;;;;
whole.{
*ittti" to*t unified "
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