Organizing a Subcultural Party in Eastern Europe: The Case of the Hungarian Christian Democrats

The fin de siècle political parties are claimed to have moved far from civil society, especially in the new democracies of Eastern Europe. Through the example of the Hungarian Christian Democratic People's Party the paper analyses a different pattern of development: a party that is deeply embedded in the subcultural network of organizations. Tracing the roots of the Catholic organizational bloc back to the end of the last century, the article establishes the factors that have effected the bloc's coherence and autonomy. Mapping the links between the Catholic-Christian organizations and analysing the party's inner life, the role of the party elite in rebuilding the subculture is assessed. The `subcultural party' is presented as one of the possible party types that might emerge in Eastern Europe.