Conservatism, Christian Democracy and the Dynamics of Transformation

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, it shows how the centre-right parties constantly adapted their politics to changing social, political, and cultural circumstances. It 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.