DebatesontheroleofChristianDemocracyinCentralandEasternEuropetoooftenremainstronglytiedtonationalhistoriographies.WiththiseditedcollectionthecontributingauthorsaimtoreconstructChristianDemocracy’sroleinthefallofCommunismfromabird’s-eyeperspectivebycoveringtheentireregionandbytaking“third-way“optionsinthebroaderpoliticalimaginaryoflateColdWarEuropeintoaccount.Thebook’stwelvechapterspresentthemostrecentinsightsonthistopicandconnectscholarshipontheIronCurtain’scollapsewithscholarshiponpoliticalCatholicism.ChristianDemocracyandtheFallofCommunismoffersthereaderatwofoldperspective.ThefirstapproachexaminestheeffortsundertakenbyWesternEuropeanactorswhowantedtofosterorsupportChristianDemocraticinitiativesinCentralandEasternEurope.Thesecondapproachisdevotedtothe(re-)emergenceofhomegrownChristianDemocraticformationsinthe1980sand1990s.Oneofthevolume’sseminalcontributionsliesinitsdocumentationofthedecisiverolethatChristianDemocracyplayedinsupportingthepoliticalandanti-politicalforcesthatengineeredthecollapseofCommunismfromwithinbetween1989and1991.Contributors:AndreaBrait(UniversityofInnsbruck),AlexanderBrakel(KonradAdenauerFoundation,Israel),LadislavCabada(MetropolitanUniversityPrague),GiovanniMarioCeci(Universit?degliStudiRomaTre/IES-Rome),KimChristiaens(KULeuven),MichaelGehler(UniversityofHildesheim),ThomasGronier(UMRSIRICE),PiotrH.Kosicki(UniversityofMaryland),SlawomirLukasiewicz(JohnPaulIICatholicUniversityofLublin),AntonPelinka(CentralEuropeanUniversityinBudapest),JohannesSch繹nner(KarlvonVogelsangInstitute),ArtūrasSvarauskas(LithuanianUniversityofEducationalScience),HelmutWohnout(AustrianFederalChancellery/KarlvonVogelsangInstitute)
