Abstract
Christian Democratic and centre–right parties have for the longest time dominated the transnational politics of European integration. This chapter argues that the formation of the European People’s Party (EPP) in 1976 and the associated expansion of the EPP Group in the European Parliament constituted the formation of an empire-by-invitation dominated by the German Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands/Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern, CDU/CSU). The CDU/CSU’s project for broadly based centre–right party cooperation in their own image and under their dominant influence has been hugely successful in giving the EPP and EPP Group power and influence in the EU. However, they have also become internally heterogeneous to the point where their programmatic identity and alliance options and preferences are increasingly unclear. In addition to internal and external policy challenges, populism as well as nationalism, as ghosts from the past of Catholic- and Protestant- inspired politics, could fundamentally endanger the CDU/ CSU-dominated empire.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Christian Democracy, Conservatism and the Challenge of the Extremes |
| Editors | Klaus Welle, Federico Reho |
| Place of Publication | Utrecht |
| Publisher | Eburon Academic Publishers |
| Pages | 87-96 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789463015400 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789463015240 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Mar 2025 |
Keywords
- European Union
- Christian Democracy
- transnational actors
- political parties
- European People's Party