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Not all social cleavages are the same: On the relationship between religious diversity and party system fragmentation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Christopher D. Raymond
Christopher D. Raymond*
Affiliation:
Queen's University Belfast
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Christopher D. Raymond, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, Ulster BT7 1NN, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Most studies examining the relationship between social cleavages and party system fragmentation maintain that higher levels of social diversity lead to greater party system fragmentation. However, most aggregate-level studies focus on one type of social cleavage: ethnic diversity. In order to develop a better understanding of how different cleavages impact electoral competition, this article considers another type of social cleavage: religious diversity. Contrary to previous literature, higher levels of religious diversity provide incentives for cross-religious cooperation, which in turn reduces party system fragmentation. Using a cross-national data set of elections from 1946–2011, the results show that, in contrast to most studies examining the effects of social cleavage diversity on the number of parties, higher religious diversity is associated with lower levels of party system fragmentation.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 364 - 388
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

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