New Perspectives on the Right Conservatism, Christian Democracy and Dynamics of Transformation

Conservatism, Christian Democracy, and the Dynamics of Transformation compares the centre-right political traditions of Britain, the Nordic countries, France, West Germany, and Austria and looks for evidence of political cooperation and influence across borders during the period 1945-91. Conservatism, Christian Democracy and the dynamics of transformation explores the traditions, cooperation and influence of centre-right politics in northern and western Europe across the second half of the twentieth century. It analyses the ideological and political affinities between Conservatism and Christian Democracy within an ambitious transnational and comparative framework, and examines how centre-right parties and intellectuals influenced each other and built networks, organisations and institutions in the pursuit of a transnational Conservatism. The book addresses the dearth of historical analysis on the centre-right that goes beyond national narratives or official histories of single parties. It offers a rare up to date insight for international readers into the often-overlooked history of the Conservative parties in the Nordic countries and brings Nordic Conservatism into the larger narrative on European Conservatism and Christian Democracy. Focusing on the dynamics of transformation of these political traditions, the volume shows how the centre-right parties constantly adapted their politics to changing social, political, and cultural circumstances. It also investigates the nebulous connections between the Conservative and Christian Democrat acceptance of the welfare state and state intervention in the economy in the decades immediately after 1945 and those neoliberal influences that did much to shape Conservatism and Christian Democracy from the 1970s. The book contributes to a deeper understanding of the crisis of the centre-right today by showing the composite and contested nature of Conservative and Christian Democratic politics in the latter half of the twentieth century. Conservatism, Christian Democracy, and the Dynamics of Transformation compares the centre-right political traditions of Britain, the Nordic countries, France, West Germany, and Austria and looks for evidence of political cooperation and influence across borders during the period 1945-90. The book explores howa variety of intellectuals, politicians, and political parties transformed their politics in response to major economic, social, and political challenges and seeks to explain why conservatives and Christian democrats came to feel that they belonged to a wider centre-right political family by the end of this period. It also examines why these political traditions found it difficult to cooperate with each other after the Second World War and why they decided to invest more political capital in inter-party relations and wider transnational projects from the 1960s. As the book shows, these developments resulted in two new centre-right internationals: the European Democrat Union and the International Democrat Union.