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14 - The Long Shadow of 1968: Christian Democracy’s Struggle for Dominance and Democratic Backsliding in Europe

from Part III - International Dimensions of the Struggle Between Democracy and Autocracy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2025

By
Dorothee Bohle  and
Aida A. Hozić
Edited by
Valerie J. Bunce ,
Thomas B. Pepinsky ,
Rachel Beatty Riedl  and
Kenneth M. Roberts
Valerie J. Bunce
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Thomas B. Pepinsky
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Rachel Beatty Riedl
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Kenneth M. Roberts
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

Democratic backsliding in Eastern Europe is often seen as a relatively recent phenomenon, closely connected to the fallout of the Great Financial Crisis and affecting mostly third wave democracies. It is also often associated with strongmen taking over mainstream conservative parties, winning elections, and then taking advantage of existing democratic institutions to concentrate their power. This chapter in contrast argues that democratic backsliding is enabled by a long-term struggle over political dominance in which mainstream conservative political parties seek to cement their power on domestic and European levels. This struggle is multidimensional, encompassing the articulation of a conservative ideology and a tactical strategy to retain power, and far precedes the Great Financial Crisis. To make the case, the chapter looks at how German Christian Democracy has reinvented itself in reaction to 1968 and its aftermath. German Christian Democracy is a crucial case. As the biggest member state of the EU, where Christian Democracy has remained an important political player and has shaped the Eastern enlargement of the EU, it is key to understanding the international context which has enabled the likes of Viktor Orbán to come to power and dismantle democracy.

Keywords

Democratic backslidingChristian DemocracyEuropean People’s PartyHungaryWestern Balkansideology
Type
Chapter
Information
Global Challenges to Democracy
Comparative Perspectives on Backsliding, Autocracy, and Resilience
 , pp. 276 - 295
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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