Place-based identities and cleavage formation in the knowledge society

Electoral divides mobilized by the far right and the new left typically have an important spatial component. An urban-rural cleavage (originally theorized by Lipset and Rokkan) seems to have re-surfaced. This paper argues that a cleavage perspective on spatial political divides remains insightful but that the urban-rural cleavage needs to be re-conceptualized for the knowledge society era. Building on cleavage theory and using novel Swiss survey data, the study shows that spatial divides today can be understood as conflicts that are largely sectoral and educational at their core (rooted in the knowledge-based economy). However, these divides may become politically mobilized and perceived through a lens of place. Categories like ‘urban/rural’ can structure people's mental maps of society, even when they inaccurately capture political conflicts' structural and geographical underpinnings.