Cross-cutting cleavages: Political cleavages are national, ethnic, linguistic, and religious divisions that affect political allegiances and policies. Cleavages can be reinforcing (cumulative) or cross-cutting. For example, if a nation was divided by cross-cutting cleavages then some people of a certain ethnic group might be rich while other people of the same ethnic group might be poor. In a nation divided by reinforcing cleavages, all people of one ethnic group would be rich and all people of another ethnic group would be poor. Cross-cutting cleavages were originally suggested as a mechanism for political stability, as no group can align all its members along a uniform cleavage-based platform, but rather has to appeal to members of the group that are spread throughout the groups created by other cleavages.
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In the US, we are divided by cross-cutting cleavages. Most Americans have some point of overlap regarding race, religion, socio-economic status, and gender. In Northern Ireland, there is really just one big reinforcing cleavage; religion. It doesn't matter if you are rich are poor, the big divide in all political matters is based upon whether you are Protestant and Catholic.
