Cleavage theory meets Europe's crises : Lipset, Rokkan, and the transnational cleavage

Published online: 28 Apr 2017This article argues that the perforation of national states by immigration, integration and trade may signify a critical juncture in the political development of Europe no less consequential for political parties and party systems than the previous junctures that Lipset and Rokkan detect in their classic article. We present evidence suggesting that (1) party systems are determined in episodic breaks from the past (2) political parties are programmatically inflexible and, (3) as a consequence, party system change comes in the form of rising parties.EUENGAGE HORIZON grant [649281]Center for European Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel HillRobert Schuman Centre, European University Institut