Definition: A division into distinct, and often hostile, opposing groups
Bases: ethnicity, religion, region, class, gender, age, economic interest
Question: Are all cleavages sources of conflict?
Why not?Factors that Help Turn Cleavages into Conflicts:
1. Cleavages overlap and re-enforce
2. Perception that political processes and outcomes are biased
3. Perception that political processes are resistant to change and adaptation
4. Preoccupation with 'self-determination'
5. Previous experience of cleavages turning into conflict, especially violent conflict