Popes, politicians and political theory: The principle of subsidiarity in 20th century European history

Abstract

The transformation of the principle of subsidiarity from a philosophical principle in Catholic social teachings to a constitutional article in the 1992 Treaty on European Union has been a source of confusion for scholars of European integration. Political scientists have examined subsidiarity from the perspective of political philosophy to account for its transformation and to determine its impact on European integration. However, no attempt has been made to anchor the emergence of subsidiarity in a historical context. This thesis employs a historical approach to analyze the transformation of subsidiarity. It examines the political struggles surrounding the principle in the Catholic Church, in German Christian Democracy, and in the debates over European Union in the European Community. It concludes that the transformation of subsidiarity occurred during the debates over the European Union that began in the 1970s and culminated in the ratification of the 1992 Maastricht treaty on European Union.