Major study of the role of European Christian democratic parties in the making of the European Union. It radically re-conceptualises European integration in long-term historical perspective as the outcome of partisan competition of political ideologies and parties and their guiding ideas for the future of Europe. Wolfram Kaiser takes a comparative approach to political Catholicism in the nineteenth century, Catholic parties in interwar Europe and Christian democratic parties in postwar Europe and studies these parties' cross-border contacts and co-ordination of policy-making. He shows how well networked party elites ensured that the origins of European Union were predominately Christian democratic, with considerable repercussions for the present-day EU. The elites succeeded by intensifying their cross-border communication and coordinating their political tactics and policy making in government. This is a major contribution to the new transnational history of Europe and the history of European integration. "Kaiser's book is a detailed scholarly analysis of European Christian democracy from its 19th-century inception to recent times. Recommended." -Choice "Kaiser's survey impresses for its analytical incisiveness and chronological and geographic scope." -Central European History "Kaiser's book is a milestone on the road to demonstrating how the European Union was built precisely through the networking of transnational actors such as Christian Democratic parties." -Stefan Berger, The International History Review "...Kaiser has written an important book for scholars of European integration and European politics in the twentieth century." -Robert Mark Spaulding, H-German "...a landmark contribution to contemporary European history." -Holger Nehring, Journal of Cold War Studies This book considers the role of European Christian democratic parties in the making of the European Union. Used Book in Good Condition