Christian Democracy and the Origins of European Union
Christian Democracy and the Origins of European Union
Major study of the role of European Christian democratic parties in the making of the European Union. It radically re-conceptualises European integration in long-term historical perspective as the outcome of partisan competition of political ideologies and parties and their guiding ideas for the future of Europe. Wolfram Kaiser takes a comparative approach to political Catholicism in the nineteenth century, Catholic parties in interwar Europe and Christian democratic parties in postwar Europe and studies these parties' cross-border contacts and co-ordination of policy-making. He shows how well networked party elites ensured that the origins of European Union were predominately Christian democratic, with considerable repercussions for the present-day EU. The elites succeeded by intensifying their cross-border communication and coordinating their political tactics and policy making in government. This is a major contribution to the new transnational history of Europe and the history of European integration.
- Sheds light on the role of European Christian democratic parties in the making of the European Union
- Reveals the long-term repercussions of the making of the European Union for the EU
- Will appeal to scholars of modern European history, the history of politics and religion, European politics and European studies
Reviews & endorsements
"Kaiser's book is a detailed scholarly analysis of European Christian democracy from its 19th-century inception to recent times. Recommended." -Choice
"Kaiser's survey impresses for its analytical incisiveness and chronological and geographic scope." -Central European History
"Kaiser's book is a milestone on the road to demonstrating how the European Union was built precisely through the networking of transnational actors such as Christian Democratic parties." -Stefan Berger, The International History Review
"...Kaiser has written an important book for scholars of European integration and European politics in the twentieth century." -Robert Mark Spaulding, H-German
"...a landmark contribution to contemporary European history." -Holger Nehring, Journal of Cold War Studies
Product details
December 2007Hardback
9780521883108
390 pages
229 × 152 × 25 mm
0.74kg
Available
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Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. All paths to Rome? Transnational Catholicism in the nineteenth century
- 2. Under siege: Catholic parties in interwar Europe
- 3. After Versailles: left-Catholic cooperation
- 4. In the shadow of dictatorship: contacts in exile
- 5. Hegemony by default: Christian democracy in postwar Europe
- 6. Creating core Europe: the rise of the party network
- 7. Deepening integration: the supranational coalition embattled
- 8. Informal politics: from Rome to Maastricht.
