To be sure, regional and ethnic allegiances play a greater role in some places in Europe – for example, Scotland, Belgium, and Catalonia – but far more so in emerging countries, where political cleavages also reflect specific post-colonial circumstances and often the legacy of single-party rule. Nonetheless, even in “emerging market” democracies, such as Chile, Mexico, South Korea, and India, a left-right cleavage plays an important role – while those who claim the political center generally remain weak.
诚然，宗教和血统忠诚度在欧洲某些地方（如苏格兰、比利时和加泰罗尼亚）具有极重要的作用，但这些因素在新兴国家更加重要，那里的政治分裂局面也反映了各自的后殖民时代环境，并且通常属于一党执政的遗留问题。尽管如此，即使是智利、墨西哥、韩国和印度这样的“新兴市场”民主国家，左右对立也扮演着重要角色，而宣布走中间道路的政客往往结果不佳。