Overview
Examines the role of Christian Democracy in both East and West Europe to offer a fuller picture of modern European politics
Explores the transnational dimension of Christian Democracy and its contribution to European integration
Offers a timely study of the European idea, bringing together 18 scholars from across Europe and beyond
Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (17 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Christian Democracy Reframed
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Front Matter
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Christian Democracy Across the Iron Curtain
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Front Matter
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Christian Democracy Across the Cold War Caesura
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Front Matter
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Keywords
About this book
This book is the first scholarly exploration of how Christian Democracy kept Cold War Europe’s eastern and western halves connected after the creation of the Iron Curtain in the late 1940s. Christian Democrats led the transnational effort to rebuild the continent’s western half after World War II, but this is only one small part of the story of how the Christian Democratic political family transformed Europe and defied the nascent Cold War’s bipolar division of the world. The first section uses case studies from the origins of European integration to reimagine Christian Democracy’s long-term significance for a united Europe. The second shifts the focus to East-Central Europeans, some exiled to Western Europe, some to the USA, others remaining in the Soviet Bloc as dissidents. The transnational activism they pursued helped to ensure that, Iron Curtain or no, the boundary between Europe’s west and east remained permeable, that the Cold War would not last and that Soviet attempts to divide the continent permanently would fail. The book’s final section features the testimony of three key protagonists. This book appeals to a wide range of audiences: undergraduate and graduate students, established scholars, policymakers (in Europe and the Americas) and potentially also general readerships interested in the Cold War or in the future of Europe.
Reviews
“A timely work that examines European Christian Democracy as it intersects with European integration. Up-do-date and thorough, with a diverse array of contributors and perspectives. It takes religion seriously, and is truly transnational in devoting serious attention to Eastern as well as Western Europe.” (James Felak, University of Washington, USA)
“An excellent collection of essays discussing the evolution of Christian Democracy in both Western and Eastern Europe during the 20th century. The contributors, all top-notch experts on particular countries, convincingly explain why Christian Democracy flourished in some countries but eventually waned in others. Anyone wanting to understand the ideology and practice of European Christian Democracy will benefit from reading this book, and it will also be of interest to scholars of religion and politics, transnational movements, and political ideologies.” (Mark Kramer, Director, Cold War Studies, Harvard University, USA)
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Piotr H. Kosicki is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland, USA.
Sławomir Łukasiewicz is Director of the Institute of European Studies at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, and a staff historian at the Institute of National Remembrance.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Christian Democracy Across the Iron Curtain
Book Subtitle: Europe Redefined
Editors: Piotr H. Kosicki, Sławomir Łukasiewicz
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64087-7
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-64086-0Published: 20 November 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-87719-8Published: 31 August 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-64087-7Published: 06 November 2017
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXXIII, 468
Topics: History of Modern Europe, Political History, World History, Global and Transnational History, History of Religion, Russian, Soviet, and East European History