Nordic variation of Christian democracy – a comparison of Christian Democratic parties in the north

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Christian Democracy has at least since the 1990s faced strong structural challenges across countries and across party systems. These challenges include secularization, individualization, and a weakened relation between civil society organizations and parties. We have witnessed the effect of these challenges in continental Europe, with the collapse of Christian Democracy in Italy and serious challenges in other countries (with Germany for long being an important exception). For Christian Democratic parties in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), these challenges have been particularly strong, due to strong secularization but also due to the rather late development of Nordic Christian democracy.

In a new report written for the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Dr. Douglas Brommesson develops an argument for why Christian Democracy is facing structural challenges, discussing the challenges facing the Nordic Christian Democratic parties. Dr. Brommesson’s report also describes the various strategies that Nordic Christian Democrats have used to improve their situation. Finally, Dr. Brommesson reflects on the future for Nordic Christian Democracy.

In this webinar, Dr. Brommesson will first present the findings of his report, after which Dr. Gregor Ryssel, Advisor for Party Analysis at the KAS Division Analysis and Consulting, will comment the findings.

The full version of the report can be downloaded above.

The discussion will be streamed live over Zoom and the KAS Nordic Countries Project’s Youtube channel. A recording the discussion will later be uploaded to the KAS Nordics Youtube channel. To register for the Zoom discussion, click here or follow the link on the right.