This book studies the impact of cleavages on electoral choices. Based on a case study of
Switzerland it analyses how cleavages divide voters into voting blocs and how this influences
Swiss voting behaviour and the Swiss party system. The first part examines the development of
salient cleavages such as religion social class rural-urban and language between 1971 and
2011. Behavioural changes among voters and changes in the size of social groups are explored as
explanatory factors for the decline of cleavage voting. The second part proposes a contextual
perspective analysis of the current impact of cleavages using both individual and contextual
factors. These factors are also combined to examine interaction effects between the individual
and the context. Finally the third part analyses whether the impact of cleavages has
harmonised across different contexts (Swiss cantons) over time.
