Two Cheers for Hierarchy! Church Institutions and Resistance to Authoritarian Rule in Hungary and Beyond

Lecture: Lunchtime Lecture-series | January 30 | 12 p.m. | 223 Moses Hall

Speaker/Performer: Jason Wittenberg, Assistant Professor, Political Science, UCB

Sponsor: Religion, Politics and Globalization Program (RPGP))

Why do mass political loyalties persist even amid prolonged social upheaval and disruptive economic development? Drawing on extensive archival research and an original database of election results, Jason Wittenberg explores the paradox of political persistence by examining Hungary’s often tortuous path from pre- to post-communism. His work demonstrates how despite the many depredations of communism, the Roman Catholic and Calvinist Churches transmitted loyalties to parties of the Right. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Church resistance occurred not from above, but from below. Hemmed in and harassed by communist party cadres, parish priests and pastors employed a variety of ingenious tactics to ensure the continued survival of local church institutions. These institutions insulated their adherents from pressures to assimilate into the surrounding socialist milieu. Ultimately this led to political continuity between pre- and post-communism.

Jason Wittenberg is assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His teaching and research interests include
comparative politics, East European politics, social science methodology, and mathematical modelling. He is the author of Crucibles of Political Loyalty: Church Institutions and Electoral Continuity in Hungary. (Cambridge University Press, 2006), as well as author and co-author of numerous journal articles and book chapters. His main current project explores the social bases of support for extremist parties, with an emphasis on interwar Eastern Europe. He has had fellowships with the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, Harvard University, and the Kellogg Institute, University of Notre Dame.

Event Contact: 510-642-7747