MARKS, Gary <br/><br/>
The past in the present :  a cleavage theory of party response to European integration 

 -  jul.2000 
<br/><br/> This article explains the positions taken by national political parties on the issue of European integration over the period 1984-96. Based on the theory of party systems develped by Lipset and Rokkan, we develop a cleavage account of party response to new political issues. We hypothesize that European integration is assimilated intopre-existing ideologies of party leaders, activists and consituencis that reflect long-standing commitments on fundamental domestic issues