Scholars argue that globalization is reconfiguring socio-political cleavages. No longer do class divisions dominate. Rather, the argument goes, societies are increasingly divided between ‘cosmopolitans’ (who welcome globalization) and ‘communitarians’ (who do not).

However, studies generally consider the impact of globalization on cleavages in advanced, rather than emerging, economies. In this article, the authors address the latter context.

By exploring the impact of liberalized healthcare and education on societal structures, they argue that globalization is encouraging social stratification that could underwrite the development of a cosmopolitan/communitarian cleavage in emerging economies. Specifically, they argue that an expansion of trade into new markets is increasing the availability of goods, services, and ideas, but the high cost of new products means that access is often restricted to local elites.

Thus, while elites are connecting to global networks, non-elites are increasingly disconnected – which is an arrangement that could foster a cosmopolitan/communitarian cleavage.

John Gledhill, Richard Dolan and Jeremy Snyder (2018) 'Availability without access? Globalization and socio-political cleavages in emerging economies', Globalizations, DOI: 10.1080/14747731.2018.1529523