Friday, October 11, 2013
11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
This is a book workshop for a manuscript being considered for Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics. This book addresses why the Roman Catholic Church in Poland, and others, gained such enormous political power—and why other churches did not. It argues that churches ironically gain their greatest political power when they can appear to be above petty politics—exerting their influence in secret meetings and the back rooms of parliaments, rather than in public pressure at the ballot box. The churches’ ability to enter these quiet corridors of power depends on their earlier historical record of defending the nation—and thus gaining moral authority both within society and among politicians.
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Christine Kilgus at christine_kilgus@brown.edu. She will then send you a copy of the manuscript. All attendees are expected to have read the chapters under discussion.