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Where Does Europe End? Christian Democracy and the Expansion of Europe

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  • Josef Hien
  • Fabio Wolkenstein

Abstract

In this article, we argue that an analysis of the conflict around the nature and limits of European integration that arose between Catholic and Protestant Christian Democrats in the post‐war era can shed new light on the expansionary dynamics that gradually came to characterize the project of European integration. Catholic Christian Democrats framed the unification of Europe as a relatively exclusionary cultural‐civilizational endeavour, while Protestant Christian Democrats favoured a more inclusive conception of Europe that prioritised free trade over cultural homogeneity. Focusing specifically on Germany, we suggest that the eventual resolution of the intra‐party struggle between the two camps in the early 1970s was a crucial enabler for including more and more countries into the European project. For it was only thereafter that Catholic Christian Democrats began supporting the expansion of European integration beyond the core Europe of the original Six, with geopolitical concerns gradually crowding out cultural ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Josef Hien & Fabio Wolkenstein, 2021. "Where Does Europe End? Christian Democracy and the Expansion of Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(6), pages 1623-1639, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:59:y:2021:i:6:p:1623-1639
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13206
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Karl Magnus Johansson, 2002. "Another Road to Maastricht: The Christian Democrat Coalition and the Quest for European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(5), pages 871-893, December.
    2. Sonia Lucarelli, 2015. "Italy and the EU: From True Love to Disenchantment?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53, pages 40-60, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fabio Wolkenstein, 2023. "Christian Europe Redux," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 636-652, May.

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