New Cleavages and Democratic Contestation in European Party Politics

Abstract

This panel explores how evolving ideological divides and institutional dynamics are reshaping party competition, political behavior, and democratic representation in Europe. While democracy remains broadly supported in principle, its liberal components have become increasingly contested. One contribution demonstrates how polarization over liberal democratic principles has emerged as a distinct axis of party competition, using a novel measure of party stances and showing its consequences for voter attitudes toward democracy. A second paper examines voters’ mental maps of group-party linkages across Western Europe, revealing that universalistic and particularistic identities now structure competition well beyond radical electorates, signaling the crystallization of a new cleavage. Extending the analysis eastward, a third paper investigates the persistence of left-authoritarian parties, highlighting the formative role of ethnicity and religiosity in shaping this ideological space. A fourth contribution focuses on immigration, unpacking the nuanced positions parties take on different types of migration and connecting these to broader ideological profiles. Finally, the panel turns to organizational dynamics, introducing a longitudinal index of party congress power to explain variation in party responsiveness to voter preferences. Together, these papers provide a comprehensive account of how new and evolving divides interact with issue competition, party organization, and democratic norms, offering insights into whether these conflicts are crystallizing into dominant cleavages in European politics.

Title	Details
Constraining the Party Elite: Congress Power and Party Responsiveness to Voters	View Paper Details
Looking Under the Hood of Party Competition on Immigration in Europe	View Paper Details
National and Socialist: Political Representation in the Left-Authoritarian Quadrant in Eastern Europe	View Paper Details
Voters' Mental Maps of Group Representation as an Indicator of Cleavage Formation	View Paper Details
When Democracy Divides: Party Polarization Over Liberal Democratic Principles	View Paper Details