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Why is there no Christian Democracy in Poland (and why does this matter)?

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posted on 2023-06-07, 22:46 authored by Tim Bale, Aleks SzczerbiakAleks Szczerbiak
Despite the fact that almost all Poles are Roman Catholics and that religion has played an important part in post-communist Polish politics, no self-declared Christian Democratic party has been successful in post-1989 Poland. None of the currently successful Polish centre-right parties profile themselves as Christian Democratic, nor can they be labeled as such objectively. While superficially Poland looks like fertile ground for Christian Democracy, the factors that were crucial to the formation and success of Christian Democratic parties in post-war Western Europe were largely absent during the emergence of democratic, multi-party politics in postcommunist Poland. Indeed, it is unlikely that such a conjuncture will ever occur anywhere in Europe again, re-inforcing the need for the continent's existing Christian Democratic parties to modernise if they are to survive and prosper. Of course, parties are never simply produced and sustained by 'cleavages': they are more than institutional responses to some kind of social demand. The formation and success, or otherwise, of Christian Democratic parties owes much to the inter-play between social realities and sponsors, on the one hand, and the institutional and ideological crafting of entrepreneurial politicians, on the other.

History

Publication status

  • Published

ISSN

1350-4649

Publisher

Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex

Pages

54.0

Place of publication

Falmer, UK

Department affiliated with

  • Politics Publications

Notes

SEI Working Paper No. 91

Institution

University of Sussex

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • No

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

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