CYCLICITY OF IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL CLEAVAGES IN THE ELECTORAL SPACE

Abstract

The Lipset-Rokkan cleavages cover the period before the formation of the basic structure of the modern ideological spectrum and, accordingly, the party system, but this does not mean that new types of splits cannot continue to fragment communities. Interestingly, some cleavages continue the logic of the described divisions, simply acting in new conditions, so we can talk about the cyclical nature of ideological and political cleavages. Two types of splits dominate today's party systems, which are cyclical repetitions of previous cleavages and support two key axes of the ideological spectrum. The degree of their impact on the structure of party systems, of course, varies from country to country. The split “center – periphery” fades and flows into “urban – rural”, then into “globalization – sovereignization”. Also, the “state-church” split fades and flows into “owners-workers”, then into “survival-self-expression”. At the same time, in each era, two dominant principles of split coexist – territorial, which projects the ideological axis "egalitarianism - elitism" and functional, which supports the ideological axis "individualism - communitarianism". It can be said that the continuity of political and party systems is ensured by the cyclicality, coexistence and resonation of ideological and political divisions.