CONSOCIATIONAL DEMOCRACY 221 in a divided society-or,similarly,among different nationalities in a multinational state-to a minimum. ELITE-MASS RELATIONS WITHIN THE SUBCULTURES Distinct lines of cleavage among the subcultures are also conducive to consociational democracy because they are likely to be concomitant with a high degree of internal political cohesion of the subcultures.This is vital to the success of consociational democracy.The elites have to cooperate and compromise with each other without losing the alle- giance and support of their own rank and file.When the subcultures are cohesive political blocs,such support is more likely to be forthcom- ing.As Hans Daalder states,what is important is not only "the extent to which party leaders are more tolerant than their followers"but also the extent to which they"are yet able to carry them along." A second way in which distinct cleavages have a favorable effect on elite-mass relations in a consociational democracy is that they make it more likely that the parties and interest groups will be the organized representatives of the political subcultures.If this is the case,the po- litical parties may not be the best aggregators,but there is at least an adequate articulation of the interests of the subcultures.Aggregation of the clearly articulated interests can then be performed by the cartel of elites.In Belgium,the three principal parties represent the Catholic, Socialist,and Liberal spiritual families,but the linguistic cleavage does not coincide with the cleavages dividing the spiritual families,and all three parties have both Flemings and Walloons among their followers. Lorwin describes the situation as follows:"The sentimental and prac- tical interests of the two linguistic communities are not effectively organized,and the geographical regions have no administrative or for- mal political existence.There are no recognized representatives quali- fied to formulate demands,to negotiate,and to fulfill commitments." The religious and class issues have been effectively articulated by the political parties and have by and large been resolved,but the linguistic issue has not been clearly articulated and remains intractable.In Swit- zerland,the parties also represent the religious-ideological groups rather than the linguistic communities,but much of the country's decen- tralized political life takes place at the cantonal level,and most of the cantons are linguistically homogeneous. A final factor which favors consociational democracy is widespread 34 Daalder,69. s5 Lorwin,"Belgium:Religion,Class,and Language in National Politics,"in Dahl, ed.,Political Oppositions in Western Democracies,174