Christian Democrat Internationalism

From September 2011 to December 2013 the Luigi Sturzo Institute in Rome along with the Centre of European Studies planned a series of international scientific meetings to study one highly important political subject: the commitment of Christian Democrats on an international level. This project has been organised thanks to the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, and the International Labour Organisation. Internationalism is a Key Element for the Christian Democrat Identity. In fact, CD is a political movement of thought and action whose roots lie in a specific ideology: to use the German word Weltanschauung, it is based on a particular framework of ideas and beliefs that leads the party to interpret the relationship between men and nations from an international point of view, ensuring the human being a central place in every social policy. The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, wrote in a Message to these Meetings: 'We can consider ourselves very lucky that 50 years ago forward-thinking personalities founded the World Union of Christian Democrats. From then on, the world, through globalisation, has been deeply changed. Events that take place in other continents immediately impact on our lives. We will be able to protect ourselves from terrorism, achieve economic and social security, and defend our environment only through common global action. This is the task of our generation: to overcome these global challenges. [...] Our parties and our political organisations share a common Christian ideal of man. This ideal, grounded on the inalienability of human dignity, is at the core of one important value: to this man has linked a social and economic model that combines economic success and social responsibility.' Her message clearly shows the need to use historical knowledge, to return to and explore a rich and challenging past as well as to develop a reflection on and a course of action for the present and the future.

Jean-Dominique Durand, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Lyon (France), is a specialist in the History of contemporary Christianity.

Contents: Ovidiu Vaida: The Ideological Shift of the EPP. An International Content Analysis - Walter E. Crivellin: A European People's Party for a Europeanist Conscience - Gianni La Bella: Latin America: Laboratory for the Future or Democracy Crisis - Alfredo Canavero: Between the Cold War and the Third World: The Christian Democratic International - Jaroslaw Rabinski: The Christian Democratic Union of Central Europe: Activity and Political Thought - Paolo Borruso: The Impossibility of a Christian Democracy in Africa? The Uganda Experience - Gianfranco Astori: Battles of Our Times: Young Christian Democrats' Commitments in the International Field - Paolo Acanfora: The UJDC: A New Political Culture for a New Ruling Class - Tiziana Di Maio: The Women's Movement of the Christian Democrats from the Origins of the EPP to the Dissolution of the Italian Party (1976-1993) - Jean-Dominique Durand: Conclusion. The History of Christian Democrat Internationalism: A Scientific Pathway.