At the Intersection of Faith, Allegiances Toward the State, and Economic Deprivation: The Case of the Christian Democratic Unions in 19th Century Western Europe

Why were Christian democratic unions (CDUs) among workers and farmers more proactive in some Western European states than in others? Marxist theories explain union activity by industrialization. However, CDUs were not the most active in the late 19th century in rapidly industrializing states, e.g.,...

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Main Author: Başak Taraktaş
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Rasim Özgür Dönmez 2022-10-01
Series:Alternatif Politika
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Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2697945
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author Başak Taraktaş
author_facet Başak Taraktaş
author_sort Başak Taraktaş
collection DOAJ
description Why were Christian democratic unions (CDUs) among workers and farmers more proactive in some Western European states than in others? Marxist theories explain union activity by industrialization. However, CDUs were not the most active in the late 19th century in rapidly industrializing states, e.g., Italy and Germany. Using social identity theory and Lipset’s Rokkan’s cleavage theory, this paper conducts process tracing on the German, French, Italian, Dutch, and Belgian cases to test the following argument: CDUs were more likely to develop in states where anticlerical attacks unleashed a center-periphery conflict. CDUs are less likely to expand in states where anticlerical attacks precipitated a church-state conflict. The presence of a Catholic minority moderated this relationship. In the Protestant-dominant states, Catholicism allowed for mobilizing individuals and maintaining cohesion. The Lutheran states’ hostility toward Catholic activism and the regional concentration of the minority accentuated this denominational difference, which catalyzed CDU development.
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spelling doaj-art-602d62e05c4a4071b9819295074fc0312025-08-20T02:35:21ZengRasim Özgür DönmezAlternatif Politika1309-05932022-10-0114361264010.53376/ap.2022.212306At the Intersection of Faith, Allegiances Toward the State, and Economic Deprivation: The Case of the Christian Democratic Unions in 19th Century Western EuropeBaşak Taraktaş0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5479-4801BOGAZICI UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSWhy were Christian democratic unions (CDUs) among workers and farmers more proactive in some Western European states than in others? Marxist theories explain union activity by industrialization. However, CDUs were not the most active in the late 19th century in rapidly industrializing states, e.g., Italy and Germany. Using social identity theory and Lipset’s Rokkan’s cleavage theory, this paper conducts process tracing on the German, French, Italian, Dutch, and Belgian cases to test the following argument: CDUs were more likely to develop in states where anticlerical attacks unleashed a center-periphery conflict. CDUs are less likely to expand in states where anticlerical attacks precipitated a church-state conflict. The presence of a Catholic minority moderated this relationship. In the Protestant-dominant states, Catholicism allowed for mobilizing individuals and maintaining cohesion. The Lutheran states’ hostility toward Catholic activism and the regional concentration of the minority accentuated this denominational difference, which catalyzed CDU development.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2697945hıristiyan demokrasihıristiyan demokrat sendikalarbölünmelersanayileşmemezhepsel farklılıklarchristian democracychristian democratic unionscleavagesindustrializationdenominational differences
spellingShingle Başak Taraktaş
At the Intersection of Faith, Allegiances Toward the State, and Economic Deprivation: The Case of the Christian Democratic Unions in 19th Century Western Europe
Alternatif Politika
hıristiyan demokrasi
hıristiyan demokrat sendikalar
bölünmeler
sanayileşme
mezhepsel farklılıklar
christian democracy
christian democratic unions
cleavages
industrialization
denominational differences
title At the Intersection of Faith, Allegiances Toward the State, and Economic Deprivation: The Case of the Christian Democratic Unions in 19th Century Western Europe
title_full At the Intersection of Faith, Allegiances Toward the State, and Economic Deprivation: The Case of the Christian Democratic Unions in 19th Century Western Europe
title_fullStr At the Intersection of Faith, Allegiances Toward the State, and Economic Deprivation: The Case of the Christian Democratic Unions in 19th Century Western Europe
title_full_unstemmed At the Intersection of Faith, Allegiances Toward the State, and Economic Deprivation: The Case of the Christian Democratic Unions in 19th Century Western Europe
title_short At the Intersection of Faith, Allegiances Toward the State, and Economic Deprivation: The Case of the Christian Democratic Unions in 19th Century Western Europe
title_sort at the intersection of faith allegiances toward the state and economic deprivation the case of the christian democratic unions in 19th century western europe
topic hıristiyan demokrasi
hıristiyan demokrat sendikalar
bölünmeler
sanayileşme
mezhepsel farklılıklar
christian democracy
christian democratic unions
cleavages
industrialization
denominational differences
url https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2697945
work_keys_str_mv AT basaktaraktas attheintersectionoffaithallegiancestowardthestateandeconomicdeprivationthecaseofthechristiandemocraticunionsin19thcenturywesterneurope