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Christian Democratic Parties in Europe

Reviews

• H-Catholic by Mark E. Ruff (March 2005)
• The Catholic Historical Review by Noel D. Cary (Vol. 91, No. 2, April 2005, pp. 388-390)
• Political Studies Review by Lucian N. Leustean (Vol. 3, No. 3, September 2005, p. 473)
• Contemporary European History by Michael Gehler (Vol. 15, No. 2, May 2006, pp. 273-289)
• Ons Erfdeel by Patrick Stouthuysen (Vol. 49, No. 2, April 2006, pp. 311-313)
• Trajecta by Alexander van Kessel (Vol. 15, No. 3, 2006, pp. 291-292)
• Party Politics by Stathis N. Kalyvas (Vol. 13, No. 1, 2007, pp. 127-129)

Press

• Knack by Hubert van Humbeeck, interview with the co-editors entitled De christendemocraten komen terug (Vol. 34, No. 6, 4 February 2004)
• Tertio by Koenraad De Wolf, interview with the co-editors titled De onverwachte comeback (Vol. 5, No. 251, 1 December 2004)
• Bulletin Quotidien Europe (No. 8863/624, 11 January 2005)
• Christian Politics. Journal of the Centre for Christian Democracy by William Gribbin (December 2005, p. 11)

Summary

The period since the end of the Cold War has been characterised by an acceleration in the European integration process, a changing pattern of political ideologies and the rise of new political issues. This book assesses the impact of these phenomena on Christian Democratic parties in the member states of the European Union and highlights some particularities and universalities of European Christian Democracy from a comparative and transnational perspective. Political scientists and historians from various universities examine the way in which Christian Democratic parties have responded to these challenges (for instance by a rapprochement towards non-Christian Democrats) and explain how these responses have resulted in failure in some cases and success in others.

Contents

• European Christian Democracy in the 1990s. Towards a Framework for Analysis
  Emmanuel Gerard & Steven Van Hecke (KULeuven)
• The Consociational Construction of Christian Democracy
  Paolo Alberti & Robert Leonardi (London School of Economics and Political Science)
• Christian Democratic Parties and Europeanisation
  Steven Van Hecke (KULeuven)
• Two Crises, Two Consolidations? Christian Democracy in Germany
  Frank Bösch (Rühr-Universität Bochum)
• Rejuvenation of an ‘Old Party’? Christian Democracy in Austria
  Franz Fallend (Universität Salzburg)
• From Dominance to Doom? Christian Democracy in Italy
  Robert Leonardi & Paolo Alberti (London School of Economics and Political Science)
• Living Apart Together. Christian Democracy in Belgium
  Wouter Beke (KULeuven)
• Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained? Christian Democracy in the Netherlands
  Paul Lucardie (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)
• At the Centre of the State. Christian Democracy in Luxembourg
  Philippe Poirier (Université du Luxembourg)
• The Impossible Resurrection. Christian Democracy in France
  Alexis Massart (Université Catholique de Lille)
• Life at the Nothern Margin. Christian Democracy in Scandinavia
  John Madeley (London School of Economics and Political Science)
• Who Learns from Whom? Failure of Spanish Christian Democracy but Success of the People’s Party
  Peter Matuschek (Georg-August Universität Göttingen)
• A Decade of Seized Opportunities. Christian Democracy in the European Union
  Steven Van Hecke (KULeuven)
• European Christian Democracy in the 1990s. Towards a Comparative Approach
  Emmanuel Gerard & Steven Van Hecke (KULeuven)

Workshop

The book collects some of the papers that have been presented at the international workshop on 'European Christian Democracy in the 1990s' (Leuven, 7-8 February 2003), an organisation of the Department of Political Science/Political Sociology and KADOC with the financial support of the Research Council of the K.U.Leuven.

The aim of the workshop has been 1) to update scientific research on European Christian Democracy within the period of the 1990s, 2) to exchange results among political scientists and historians, both junior and senior academics, and 3) to study the European Christian Democratic parties in a comparative way by examining the parties on a broad set of characteristics.

The organisation of the workshop is part of a long and broad research tradition, both at the Department of Political Science/Political Sociology and KADOC. On the one hand, at Political Sociology, research has been carried out on the history of political Catholicism and Christian Democrcay. On the other hand, KADOC is known for its historical research on Christian Democracy, specifically the colloquium in 1995 on Christian Democracy in Western Europe. See for instance: G.-R. Horn and E. Gerard (eds.), Left Catholicism 1943-1955. Catholics and Society in Western Europe at the Point of Liberation (Leuven University Press, 2001, 320p.) and E. Lamberts (ed.), Christian Democracy in the European Union 1945-1995 (Leuven University Press, 19987, 511p.).  In this way, the co-organisation by the Department of Political Science/Political Sociology and KADOC strengthens each other's research traditions, enforces the comparative approach and combines the historical with the political scientific and the national with the international perspective.