Wittenberg Jason. Crucibles of Political Loyalty. Church Institutions and Electoral Continuity in Hungary

Cambridge University Press, 2012. — 312 p."Wittenberg weighs in on a long-standing puzzle: Why, like a watermark on the printed page, do partisan loyalties survive within a society across generations and notwithstanding vast historical change -- in France, for example, from back across the Fifth, Fourth, and Third Republics, back even to the French Revolution, and maybe before?..This is a rigorous explanation for a hard case, with relevance for other authoritarian transitions..."
Robert Levgold, Foreign AffairsThis book investigates one of the oldest paradoxes in political science: 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, it explores the paradox of political persistence by examining Hungary’s often tortuous path from pre- to postcommunism.Wittenberg reframes the theoretical debate and 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 pressure to assimilate into the surrounding socialist milieu. Ultimately this led to political continuity between pre- and postcommunism.Jason Wittenberg is assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. He has published articles in the American Journal of Political Science, Organization Science, Political Analysis, Slavic Review, and the System Dynamics Review.