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DEMOCRACY AS A CONTESTED CONCEPT IN POST-WAR WESTERN EUROPE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF POLITICAL DEBATES IN FRANCE, WEST GERMANY, AND ITALY*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2015

PEPIJN CORDUWENER
PEPIJN CORDUWENER*
Affiliation:
Utrecht University
*
Department of History and Art History, Utrecht University, Drift 6, 3512 BS Utrecht, The Netherlandsp.corduwener@uu.nl
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Abstract

This article explores how political parties in France, West Germany, and Italy conceptualized democracy and challenged the conceptions of democracy of their political adversaries between the end of the 1940s and the early 1960s. It studies from a comparative perspective the different conceptions of democracy held by Christian democrat, Left-wing, and Gaullist political actors and shows how these diverged on key issues such as the economic system, foreign policy, the separation of powers, electoral systems, and the use of state institutions in the defence of democracy against anti-democratic forces. In this way, the article reveals how in the first fifteen years after the Second World War, government and opposition parties disputed each other's democratic credentials and political legitimacy, and it thereby reconsiders the claim that there existed a broad consensus on the meaning of democracy among political elites in post-war Western Europe. It is argued that these different conceptions of democracy only started to converge after they had clashed during political crises at the turn of the 1960s in all three states. This study thereby contributes to an enhanced understanding the formation of the post-war democratic order in Western Europe.

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Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 59 , Issue 1 , March 2016 , pp. 197 - 220
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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Footnotes

*

This article is based upon a paper delivered at a colloquium of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences in Amsterdam. I would like to thank Martin Conway for his valuable comments on the paper given there. Many thanks also to Ido de Haan for the stimulating discussions which contributed to the development of the argument, and to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions for improvement. Finally, I would like to thank the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome for facilitating my research stay in Italy.

References

1 For the coinage of the term ‘transformed’ democracy, see M. Mazower, Dark continent: Europe's twentieth century (London, 1998), pp. 287–91.

2 See most notably J. W. Müller, Contesting democracy: political ideas in the twentieth century (New Haven, CT, 2011), pp. 128–45; Conway, M., ‘The rise and fall of Europe's democratic age, 1945–1973’, Contemporary European History, 13 (2004), pp. 67–88CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Conway, M., ‘Democracy in postwar Europe: the triumph of a political model’, European History Quarterly, 32 (2002), pp. 59–84CrossRefGoogle Scholar; C. S. Maier, ‘Democracy after the French Revolution’, in J. Dunn, ed., Democracy: the unfinished journey, 508 bc –1993 ad (Oxford, 1993), pp. 125–52; R. Vinen, History in fragments: Europe's twentieth century (London, 2000), pp. 358–403.

3 See for instance P. Mendès France, ‘La crise de la démocratie’ (1954), in P. Mendès France, Œuvres complètes: pour une république moderne, 1955–1962 (Paris, 1987), pp. 81–102; P. Nenni, Dialogo con la sinistra cattolicà (Milan, 1954); L. Erhard, ‘Massenmensch aus eigener Schuld’ (1952), in L. Erhard, Gedanken aus fünf Jahrzehnten (Düsseldorf, 1988), pp. 343–5.

4 J. Dunn, Setting the people free: the story of democracy (London, 2005), p. 14; Maier, ‘Democracy after the French Revolution’, p. 138.

5 K. Schumacher, ‘Sozialismus als integrierende Kraft der europäische Demokratie’ (1948), in K. Schumacher, Turmwächter der Demokratie: ein Lebensbild von Kurt Schumacher. II. Reden und Schriften (Berlin, 1953), pp. 139–65, at p. 139.

6 M. Scelba, Solidarietà nazionale e coscienza democratica (Rome, 1950), p. 12.

7 A. Moro, ‘Una falsa democrazia’ (1945), in A. Moro, Scritti e discorsi, 1940–1947 (Rome, 1982), p. 245.

8 In this studying of ‘conquering’, it is indebted to the methodological work of Michael Freeden, who is particularly susceptible to the way in which political actors claim to ‘decontest’ the meaning of political concepts. See M. Freeden, Ideologies and political theory: a conceptual approach (Oxford, 1996). See also Strath, B., ‘Ideology and history’, Journal of Political Ideologies, 13 (2006), pp. 23–42CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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10 See for instance R. Vivarelli, Storia delle origini del fascismo: l'Italia dalla grande guerra alla marcia su Roma (3 vols., Bologna, 1991), ii, p. 26; H. Mommsen, Aufstieg und Untergang der Republik von Weimar (Berlin, 1998).

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13 This ensured an American influence on the post-war intellectual and political debate in Germany and Italy in particular. See for instance del Pero, M., ‘The United States and “psychological warfare” in Italy, 1948–1955’, Journal of American History, 87 (2001), pp. 1304–34CrossRefGoogle Scholar; S. Forner, ‘Das Sprachror keener Besatzungsmacht oder Partei: Deutsche Publizisten, die Vereinigten Staaten und die demokratische Erneuerung in Westdeutschland, 1945–1949’, in A. Bauerkämper, K. H. Jarausch, and M. M. Payk, eds., Demokratiewunder: Transatlantische Mittler und die kulturelle Öffnung Westdeutschlands, 1945–1970 (Göttingen, 2005), pp. 159–89.

14 On this moment of anti-fascist unity, see for instance G. Eley, Forging democracy: a history of the Left in Europe, 1850–2000 (Oxford, 2002), pp. 283–98.

15 W. Becker, ‘Der Einfluβ der Unionsparteien auf der politische Ordnung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland’, in E. Lamberts, ed., Christian Democracy in the European Union, 1945–1995 (Leuven, 1997), pp. 224–41; C. Campanini, ‘I programmi del partito democratico cristiana’, in F. Malgeri, ed., Storia della Democrazia Cristiana, i:1943–1948: le origini: la DC dalla resistenza alla repubblica (Rome, 1987), pp. 205–29; E.-F. Callot, Le mouvement républicain populaire: un parti politique de la démocratie chrétienne en France: origine, structure, doctrine, programme et action politique (Paris, 1978), p. 139.

16 The concept of militant democracy was coined by Karl Loewenstein in 1937, based on the assumption that democratic states need institutional mechanisms to guard themselves against anti-democratic threats: Loewenstein, K., ‘Militant democracy and fundamental rights I’, American Political Science Review, 31 (1937), pp. 417–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Loewenstein, K., ‘Militant democracy and fundamental rights II’, American Political Science Review, 31 (1937), pp. 638–58CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

17 See the standard work on the elections: R. Ventresca, From fascism to democracy: culture and politics in the Italian elections of 1948 (Toronto, 2004).

18 A. Giovagnoli, Il partito italiano: la Democrazia cristiana dal 1942 al 1994 (Bari, 1996), p. 56.

19 Denti, A. B., ‘La strategia anticomunista americana e la sinistra Dc durante la prima amministrazione Eisenhower’, Studi storici, 46 (2005), pp. 661–710Google Scholar.

20 A. Vittoria, Storia del PCI (Rome, 2006), p. 70. For the problems of founding the Italian republic on anti-fascism in the face of the communist contribution to the Italian resistance, see P. Scoppola, La repubblica dei partiti: evoluzione e crisi di un sistema politico (Bologna, 1997), p. 131.

21 Scelba, Solidarietà nazionale e coscienza democratica, p. 12.

22 A. De Gasperi, ‘Le ragione di una politica anticomunista’ (1951), in A. De Gasperi, Scritti politici di Alcide de Gasperi (Milan, 1979), pp. 365–370, at p. 370. See also G. Galli, Storia della DC, 1943–1993: mezzo secolo di Democrazia cristiana (Rome, 2007), p. 73.

23 M. Scelba, La distensione e la responsabilità dei democratici (Rome, 1955), p. 26.

24 S. Lupo, Partito e antipartito: storia politica della prima repubblica (Rome, 2004), p. 98.

25 For an overview of the laws, which were interpreted as anti-communist, see for instance G. Scarpari, La Democrazia cristiana e le leggi eccezionali, 1950–1953 (Milan, 1977).

26 A. de Gasperi, ‘Costituzione e riforma elettorale’ (1952), in De Gasperi, Scritti politici, pp. 383–6, at p. 383.

27 Ibid., p. 384.

28 Galli, Storia della DC, 1943–1993, p. 74. My emphasis.

29 Compare for instance P. Ginsborg, A history of contemporary Italy: society and politics, 1943–1980 (New York, NY, 2003), p. 140; G. Bedeschi, La prima repubblica (1946–1993): storia di una democrazia difficile (Rome, 2013), p. 87; F. Malgeri, ‘De Gasperi e l'età del centrismo (1948–1954)’, in F. Malgeri, ed., Storia della Democrazia Cristiana, ii:De Gasperi e l'età del Centrismo (Rome, 1987), pp. 3–249, at p. 177.

30 A. de Gasperi, ‘La legge maggioritaria: la DC e la dottrina sociale cattolica’ (1953), in De Gasperi, Scritti politici, pp. 392–6, at p. 393. The law was also criticized from within the DC, see for instance Galli, Storia della DC, 1943–1993, p. 134.

31 V. Otto, Das Staatsverständnis des Parlamentarischen Rates: Ein Beitrag zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Grundgesetzes für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Düsseldorf, 1971), pp. 150–1. This legislation against anti-democratic parties was inherited from the Allied forces; see Rogers, D. E., ‘Transforming the German party system: the United States and the origins of political moderation, 1945–1949’, Journal of Modern History, 65 (1993), pp. 512–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

32 S. Ullrich, Der Weimar-Komplex: Das Scheitern der ersten deutschen Demokratie und die politische Kultur der frühen Bundesrepublik (Göttingen, 2009), pp. 117–43.

33 On the different conceptions of militant democracy of CDU and SPD, see for instance K. Hanshew, Terror and democracy in West Germany (Cambridge, 2012), ch. 1.

34 K. Sontheimer, Die Adenauer Ära: Grundlegung der Bundesrepublik (Munich, 2003), p. 72.

35 K. Adenauer, ‘Ansprache vor dem Vorstand und den Vorsitzenden der Kreisparteien der CDU Rheinland und Westfalen in Bonn’ (1952), in K. Adenauer, Reden, 1917–1967: Eine Auswahl (Stuttgart, 1975), pp. 201–16, at p. 201.

36 CSU, Wahlprogramm (1949), found on www.hss.de/fileadmin/migration/downloads/BTW_1949-08-14.pdf, created in 2009.

37 Adenauer, ‘Ansprache vor dem Vorstand und den Vorsitzenden der Kreisparteien der CDU’, p. 216.

38 See for instance K. Adenauer, ‘Rede auf der Schluβkundgebung des Landesparteitag der CDU im Messehaus Nürnberg’ (1957), in Adenauer, Reden, 1917–1967, pp. 366–72, at p. 367.

39 E. Wolfrum, Die geglückte Demokratie: Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland von ihren Anfang bis zur Gegenwart (Bonn, 2006), pp. 112–13.

40 See for instance M. Görtemacher, Geschichte der Bundesrepublik: Von Gründung bis zum Gegenwart (Munich, 1999), p. 74. For the comments about the right to strike, see K. Adenauer, ‘Mitbestimmung’ (1951), in K. Adenauer, Bundestagreden (Bonn, 1972), p. 80.

41 Verfahren gegen die KPD vor dem Bundesverfassungsgericht: Die Rechtsgrundlagen (Bonn, 1955), pp. 13–15.

42 Wolfrum, Die geglückte Demokratie, p. 67.

43 On the parliamentary debates on the question of a constitutional court, see for instance Facon, La IVe République, pp. 62–82.

44 A. Bergounioux and G. Grunberg, Le long remords du pouvoir: le Parti socialiste français, 1905–1992 (Paris, 1992), p. 162.

45 G. Mollet, ‘Participation au gouvernement Mendès France?’ (1954), in G. Mollet, Textes choisies: le socialiste et le républicain, 1945–1975 (Paris, 1975), pp. 83–94.

46 L. Blum, ‘Communisme et Gaullisme’ (1948), in L. Blum, L’œuvre de Léon Blum (1947–1950): la fin des alliances, la troisième force, politique Européenne, pour la justice (Paris, 1963), pp. 239–44.

47 C. d'Abzac-Épezy et al., Charles de Gaulle et le Rassemblent du Peuple Français, 1947–1955 (Paris, 1998), pp. 849–51.

48 F. Broche, Une histoire des antigaullismes des origines à nos jours (Paris, 2007), pp. 294–5.

49 L. Blum, ‘L'intervention du De Gaulle et le referendum du 13 Octobre 1946’ (1946), in L. Blum, L’œuvre de Léon Blum: naissance de la Quatrième République: la vie du parti et la doctrine socialiste, 1945–1947 (Paris, 1958), pp. 304–32, at p. 305.

50 L. Blum, ‘La constitution’ (1946), in Blum, L’œuvre de Léon Blum: naissance de la Quatrième République, pp. 144–57, at p. 147.

51 L. Blum, ‘La démission du général De Gaulle et le gouvernement Félix Gouin’ (1946), in Blum, L’œuvre de Léon Blum: naissance de la Quatrième République, pp. 158–73, at p. 166.

52 See most famously C. De Gaulle, ‘Discours prononcé à Bayeux’ (1946), in C. De Gaulle, Discours et messages: dans l'attente, 1946–1958 (Paris, 1970), pp. 5–11.

53 ‘L. Blum, ‘Les problèmes constitutionnelles’ (1946), in Blum, L’œuvre de Léon Blum: naissance de la Quatrième République, pp. 217–24, at p. 219.

54 L. Blum, ‘Motion pour un congrès extraordinaire de la S.F.I.O.’ (1947), in Blum, L’œuvre de Léon Blum (1947–1950), pp. 109–13, at p. 111. This is also the judgement of many historians, see for instance J. P. Rioux, The Fourth Republic, 1944–1958 (Cambridge, 1987), p. 61.

55 R. Aron, Le grand schisme (Paris, 1948), p. 225.

56 J. Duclos, On ne peut voter pour la paix sans voter pot les candidats présentés par le Parti Communiste Français (Paris, 1952), p. 24.

57 S. Courtois and M. Lazar, Histoire du Parti communiste français (Paris, 1995), p. 352.

58 See for instance J. P. Rioux, ‘De Gaulle in waiting’, in H. Hough and J. Horne, eds., De Gaulle and twentieth-century France (London, 1995), pp. 35–49.

59 C. de Gaulle, ‘Discours prononcé à ‘Épinal’ (1946), in De Gaulle, Discours et messages, pp. 26–33, at p. 31.

60 Comité General d’Études, ‘Le problème constitutionnelle français’ (1944), in H. Michel and B. Mirkine-Geutzévitch, eds., Les idées politiques et sociales de le résistance (Paris, 1954), pp. 287–97, at p. 293.

61 De Gaulle, ‘Discours prononcé à Bayeux’, p. 8.

62 Alibert-Fabre, V., ‘La pensée constitutionnelle du général de Gaulle à “l’épreuve des circonstances”’, Revue française de science politique, 40 (1990), pp. 699–713CrossRefGoogle Scholar, at p. 702.

63 De Gaulle, ‘Discours prononcé à ‘Épinal’, p. 29.

64 C. de Gaulle, ‘Discours prononcé à Vincennes’ (1947), in De Gaulle, Discours et messages, pp. 122–8, at p. 127.

65 C. de Gaulle, ‘Déclaration’ (1947), in De Gaulle, Discours et Messages, pp. 135–7.

66 M. Degl'Innocenti, Storia del PSI (3 vols., Bari, 1993), iii, p. 224.

67 See the standard work P. Di Loreto, Togliatti e la ‘Doppiezza’: il PCI tra democrazia e insurrezione, 1944–1949 (Bologna, 1991).

68 See for instance A. Agosti, ‘“Partito nuovo” e “democrazia progressiva” nell'elaborazioni dei comunisti’, in C. Framsceschini, S. Guerrieri, and G. Monina, eds., Le idee costituzionali della resistenza. Atti del convegno di studi: Roma 19, 20 e 21 ottobre 1995 (Rome, 1995), pp. 235–48; P. McCarthy, The crisis of the Italian state: from the origins of the Cold War to the fall of Berlusconi and beyond (New York, NY, 1997), ch. 1.

69 S. Pons, L'impossibile egemonia: I'URSS, il PCI e le origine della guerra fredda (1943–1948) (Rome, 1999), p. 38.

70 G. D. Drummond, The German social democrats in opposition, 1949–1960 (Norman, OK, 1982), p. 29.

71 Orlow, D., ‘Delayed reaction: democracy, nationalism, and the SPD, 1945–1966’, German Studies Review, 16 (1993), pp. 77–102CrossRefGoogle Scholar, at p. 80.

72 The party feared for the life of Togliatti in the 1950s and considered bringing the leader to safety abroad. See Vittoria, Storia del PCI, p. 70. Police gunfire killed over 100 protesters in the period between 1945 and 1960 in Italy. See D. Della Porta, Social movements, political violence and the state: a comparative analysis of Italy and Germany (Cambridge, 1995), p. 58.

73 Di Loreto, Togliatti e la ‘Doppiezza’, p. 22.

74 K. Schumacher, ‘Die Aufgabe der Opposition’ (1949), in Schumacher, Turmwächter der Demokratie, pp. 166–85, at p. 176.

75 K. Schumacher, ‘Politik macht man nicht mit der Beinen, sondern mit dem Kopf’ (1952), in Schumacher, Turmwächter der Demokratie, pp. 503–6.

76 L. Erhard, ‘Marktwirtschaft im Streit der Meinungen’ (1948), in Erhard, Gedanken aus fünf Jahrzehnten, pp. 134–52, at p. 134.

77 K. Schumacher, ‘Um die Lebensnotwendigkeit des Volkes’ (1950), in Schumacher, Turmwächter der Demokratie, pp. 186–220, at p. 198.

78 K. Schumacher, ‘Von der Freiheit zur sozialen Gerechtigkeit’ (1948), in Schumacher, Turmwächter der Demokratie, pp. 111–38, at p. 137.

79 Schumacher, ‘Um die Lebensnotwendigkeit des Volkes’, p. 205.

80 P. Togliatti, Per un governo di dissensione di riforme sociale e di pace: rapporto al Consiglio Nazionale del P.C. I. del 15 aprile 1953 (Rome, 1953).

81 L. Basso, Due totalitarismi: Fascismo e democrazia cristiana (Rome, 1951), p. 281.

82 See for instance L. Blum, ‘Notes d'Allemagne (1943–1945)’, in L. Blum, L’œuvre de Léon Blum V. 1940–1945 Mémoires de la prison et la procès: À l’échelle humaine (Paris, 1955), pp. 500–14; Schumacher, ‘Um die Lebensnotwendigkeit des Volkes’, pp. 186–220.

83 G. Saragat, ‘La nostra democrazia’ (1944), in G. Saragat, Quaranta anni di lotta per la democrazia: scritti e discorsi, 1925–1965 (Rome, 1966), p. 254.

84 Also the prominent socialist Lelio Basso claimed that in the current societal circumstances there could be ‘no true democracy’: Basso, Due totalitarismi, p. 258. For Left-wing claims to embody ‘true democracy’, see also for instance Chi sono I nemici della patria e dell‘indipendenza nazionale, i nemici della libertà e della democrazia? (PCI, supplement to no. 6–7 of Propaganda, 1948), p. 21. Istituto Gramsci Rome, Archivio del PCI FD PCI Op. 2861 134170.

85 The groundwork for such a more participatory conception of democracy had been laid by several public intellectuals after the War; see Forner, S. A., ‘Für eine demokratische Erneuerung Deutschlands: Kommunikationsprozesse und Deutungsmuster engagierter Demokraten nach 1945’, Geschichte und Gesellschaft, 33 (2007), pp. 228–57CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

86 K. Jarausch, Die Umkehr: Deutsche Wandlungen, 1945–1995 (Munich, 2004), p. 189.

87 Basso, Due totalitarismi, p. 258.

88 Togliatti, Per un governo di dissensione di riforme sociale e di pace, p. 10.

89 PCI, ‘Per un governo di pace e di riforme sociali: per una Italia democratica e indipendente’ (Rome, 1953), Istituto Gramsci, Rome, Archivio del PCI, F. Col. Op. 91 000071303. The DC claimed to protect liberty and the constitution in its election campaign manifesto, see: Democrazia Cristiana, ‘1 Maggio 1953: appello della Direzione della D. C al Paese per le elezioni politiche’, in A. Damilano, ed., Atti e documenti della Democrazia cristiana 1943–1967 (Rome, 1968), p. 608.

90 Degl'Innocenti, Storia del PSI, p. 186.

91 K. Schumacher, ‘Das Volk soll entscheiden! Für die deutsche Gleichberechtigung’ (1950), in K. Schumacher, Reden – Schriften – Korrespondenzen, 1945–1952 (Berlin and Bonn, 1985), pp. 863–82, at p. 880.

92 E. Ollenhauer, ‘Gemeinschaft der Freien und Gleichen’ (1952), in E. Ollenhauer, Reden und Aufsätze (Hannover, 1964), p. 216.

93 P. Nenni, Legge truffa e costituzione: ragioni dell'ostruzionismo socialista (Milan, 1953), p. 14.

94 K. Schumacher, ‘Gesellschaftsumbau – ein Nationale Aufgabe’ (1951), in Schumacher, Turmwächter der Demokratie, pp. 249–73, at p. 249.

95 M. Debré, Ces princes qui nous gouvernent (Paris, 1957), p. 79.

96 M. Evans, Algeria: France's undeclared war (Oxford, 2012), p. 155.

97 N. Atkin, The French Fifth Republic (Basingstoke, 2005), pp. 40–2.

98 F. Mitterrand, Le coup d’état permanent (Paris, 1964).

99 F. Mitterrand, La rose au poing (Paris, 1973), p. 133.

100 R. Vinen, ‘The Fifth Republic as parenthesis? Politics since 1945’, in J. McMillan, ed., Modern France, 1880–2002 (Oxford, 2003), pp. 74–102; J. Jennings, Revolution and the republic: a history of political thought in France since the eighteenth century (Oxford, 2012), p. 568.

101 V. Giscard d'Estaing, Démocratie française (Paris, 1976), p. 28.

102 See in particular K. Schönhoven, Wendejahre: die Sozialdemokratie in der Zeit der Groβen Koalition, 1966–1969 (Bonn, 2004), pp. 36–50; B. W. Bouvier, Zwischen Godesberg und Groβer Koalition: der Weg der SPD in die Regierungsverantwortung auβen-, sicherheits-, und deutschlandpolitische Umorientierung und gesellschaftliche Öffnung der SPD, 1960–1966 (Bonn, 1990).

103 See for instance Nonn, C., ‘Das Godesberger Programm und die Krise des Ruhrbergbaus: Zum Wandel der deutschen Sozialdemokratie von Ollenhauer zu Brandt’, Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte, 50 (2002), pp. 71–97Google Scholar.

104 See for instance Hodge, C. C., ‘The long fifties: the politics of socialist programmatic revision in Britain, France and Germany’, Contemporary European History, 2 (1993), pp. 17–34CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

105 C. Schmid, ‘Weg und Ziel der Sozialdemokratie’ (1945), in C. Schmid, Politik als geistige Aufgabe. Gesammelte Werkte I (Munich, 1973), pp. 13–37, at p. 26.

106 C. Schmid, ‘Der ideologische Standort der deutschen Sozialismus in der Gegenwart’ (1958), in Schmid, Politik als Geist, pp. 245–78, at pp. 266–7.

107 ‘Franz Jozef Strauβ in einem Interview mit der Augsburger Allgemeine am 5. November 1962’, in A. Grosser and J. Seifert, eds., Die Spiegel Affäre, i:Die Staatsmacht und ihre Kontrolle: Texte und Dokumente zur Zeitgeschichte (Olten und Freiburg im Breisgau, 1966), p. 492.

108 ‘Kommentar der Süddeutsche Zeitung 8 November 1962’, in Grosser and Seifert, eds., Die Spiegel Affäre, pp. 449–50.

109 H.-O. Kleinmann, Geschichte der CDU (Stuttgart, 1993), pp. 194–5; A. J. Nicholls, The Bonn Republic: West German democracy, 1945–1990 (New York, NY, 1997), p. 172. Cf. Hanshew, Terror and democracy in West Germany.

110 Schönhoven, Wendejahre, p. 36.

111 See also G. Crainz, Storia del miracolo italiano: culture, identità, trasformazioni fra anni cinquanta e sessanta (Rome, 2005), ch. 2.

112 P. Nenni, ‘Al 32 Congresso’ (1957), in P. Nenni, Il socialismo nella democrazia: realtà e presente (Florence, 1966), pp. 5–44. See also S. M. di Scala, Renewing Italian socialism: Nenni to Craxi (Oxford, 1988), p. 133.

113 L. Radi, Tambroni trent'anni dopo: il luglio 1960 e la nascita del centrosinistra (Bologna, 1990), p. 122.

114 P. Cooke, Luglio 1960: Tambroni e la repressione fallita (Milan, 2000), p. 14.

115 On the PCI's quest for democratic legitimacy in the 1970s, see for instance S. Pons, Berlinguer e la fine del comunismo (Turin, 2006).

116 The uniformity, stability, and consensus of post-war Western European democracies has been a recurrent theme in historiography; see the publications cited above in n. 2, as well as D. Sassoon, ‘Politics’, in M. Fulbrook, ed., Europe since 1945 (Oxford, 2001), pp. 14–52; M. Conway and V. Depkat, ‘Towards a European history of the discourse of democracy: discussing democracy in Western Europe, 1945–1960’, in M. Conway and K. K. Patel, eds., Europeanization in the twentieth century: historical approaches (Basingstoke, 2010), pp. 132–56; D. W. Urwin, A political history of Western Europe since 1945 (London, 1997), pp. 135–40.

117 See in particular Müller, Contesting democracy, pp. 146–7.

118 Kommers, D. P., ‘The Federal Constitutional Court: guardian of German democracy’, Annals of the Academy of Political and Social Science, 603 (2006), pp. 111–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

119 Ginsborg, A history of contemporary Italy, p. 100.

120 Compare with Conway and Depkat, ‘Towards a European history of the discourse of democracy’, p. 149.

121 For France, see M. Winock, Les gauche en France (Paris, 2006). For the co-operation between DC and PCI in Italy in the 1970s, see most notably A. Giovagnoli, Il caso Moro: una tragedia repubblicana (Bologna, 2005).

122 For an exception, see P. Rauti, La democrazia: ecco il nemico (Rome, 1952).

123 Müller, J. W., ‘European intellectual history as contemporary history’, Journal of Contemporary History, 46 (2011), pp. 574–90CrossRefGoogle Scholar, at p. 589.