Danish politics is comparable to the politics of other small European states. However, it is also unique because of its many years of minority governments, its history of EU opt-outs, its high electoral turnout even in local elections,... more
Danish politics is comparable to the politics of other small European states. However, it is also unique because of its many years of minority governments, its history of EU opt-outs, its high electoral turnout even in local elections, and its high level of trust in government and Parliament. Other remarkable features are high female labour participation in spite of a lack of proactive gender policies, and one of the world’s largest local and regional government sectors. Denmark had its earthquake election as early as 1973 with many new parties entering Parliament. However, the June 2019 elections still saw the huge majority of voters voting for old parties. Denmark is also known as a country with a high taxation level and one of the world’s biggest publicly funded service sectors, possibly because minority governments strive for majority support for their legislative proposals. Other specific characteristics are the mix of market-oriented policies and the huge welfare state. These ...
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Denmark, Norway and Sweden are still among the most corporatist democracies in the world. Although corporatism has declined in Scandinavia over the last decades, it still exists, albeit at a lower level. Based on comparative and... more
Denmark, Norway and Sweden are still among the most corporatist democracies in the world. Although corporatism has declined in Scandinavia over the last decades, it still exists, albeit at a lower level. Based on comparative and longitudinal data, we argue that this is a consequence of the disruption of some of the prerequisites to corporatist exchange. Neither governments nor the relevant interest groups in Scandinavia control what their exchange partner desires to the same extent as they did during the heyday of corporatism. Despite the involvement of different factors in the three countries, the main pattern is the same. Consequently, the character of state–interest group relations in Scandinavia is not as distinctive as it used to be.
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Denmark and Norway have experienced significant political changes during the past three decades, changes that affect the constraints and opportunities organized interests are facing. Corporatist representation in the policy-making process... more
Denmark and Norway have experienced significant political changes during the past three decades, changes that affect the constraints and opportunities organized interests are facing. Corporatist representation in the policy-making process has declined, and changes in executive-legislative relations have increased the power of parliaments. Organized interests are expected to adapt to these changing circumstances to maintain their political influence. This article shows how Danish and Norwegian interest groups have coped with the decline of corporatism and the revival of parliaments. Representation in corporatist policy-making committees and lobbying toward civil servants in government ministries have been supplemented and in some cases substituted by political lobbyism directed toward elected representatives in the parliament and the government. The analysis is based on panel data from several surveys carried out among nationwide interest groups in Denmark and Norway.
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I april 2004 fremlægger regeringen sit samlede bud på strukturreformen, herunder et forslag om at samle arbejdsmarkedsforvaltningen i kommunale jobcentre under kommunalbestyrelserne. Forslaget om en såkaldt enstrenget... more
I april 2004 fremlægger regeringen sit samlede bud på strukturreformen, herunder et forslag om at samle arbejdsmarkedsforvaltningen i kommunale jobcentre under kommunalbestyrelserne. Forslaget om en såkaldt enstrenget arbejdsmarkedsforvaltning bliver imidlertid langt fra realiseret. Med strukturreformen bliver der etableret kommunalt baserede jobcentre, men inden for disse er myndighedsansvaret for forskellige grupper af ledige og typer af forvaltningsopgaver fortsat delt mellem stat, kommuner og interesseorganisationer. Formålet med denne artikel er at forklare årsagen til variationen mellem regeringens forslag og den realiserede reform. Vores argument er, at variationen skyldes arbejdsmarkedsområdets interessepolitiske konfi guration med stærke politiske aktører med såvel incitamenter til som mulighed for at opnå indfl ydelse på den politiske beslutningsproces. Afvigelsen mellem udspil og faktisk reform er således et udslag af, at stærke aktører først og fremmest er optaget af at ...
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This paper investigates the evolution of the interest groups system in Denmark and Switzerland. Denmark is an emblematic example of social corporatism, while Switzerland is a paradigmatic case of liberal corporatism. However,... more
This paper investigates the evolution of the interest groups system in Denmark and Switzerland. Denmark is an emblematic example of social corporatism, while Switzerland is a paradigmatic case of liberal corporatism. However, neo-corporatist arrangements are put under strong and cumulative pressures in both countries, for instance through Europeanization, party polarization, mediatization, revalorization of the Parliament, "pluralization" of interest representation, etc. As similar external factors have impacted the two different interest groups systems, one might wonder if the transformation of corporatism in Denmark and Switzerland leads towards a new and common form of interest group system. The paper analyze the presence of interest groups, in the two major venues of the legislative process (administrative and parliamentary venues), and ask if we observe a decline in the role of corporatist interest groups. Can we observe a trend toward “parliamentary corporatism”, mar...
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There is a pressure for convergence in the area of merger control in the EU member states. How is this pressure spelled out in German, British, and French merger control? Do the three countries' merger control regimes have recognizable... more
There is a pressure for convergence in the area of merger control in the EU member states. How is this pressure spelled out in German, British, and French merger control? Do the three countries' merger control regimes have recognizable ideational foundations and policies? Through a careful, detailed comparison we reveal significant differences and similarities between the three countries. A clear relationship can be traced between each country's merger control setup and an ism on the state–market relationship: German ordoliberalism, British neoliberalism, and French mercantilism. Pressures for European convergence coexist with significant traces of ideational national foundations.