C ONSENSUAL CULTURE IN D ENMARK Karl Löfgren, PhD Department of Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University.

”S TATE TRADITIONS ” (L OUGHLIN & P ETERS, 1997) Element/ Tradition ”Anglo- saxon” ”Germanic””French” ”Scandinavian” State- society PluralistOrganic Antagonist ”Organistic” Pol.org.Limited federalism IntegratedCentralisedDe- centralised Basis for policy style Increment- alism ’Rechtsstat’ – corporatism ’Rechtsstat’ - technocracy Consensual

A BRIEF POLITICAL HISTORY OF DENMARK Absolutism 1849 The first democratic constitution ( grundlov ) 1901Parliamentarism 1953Revision of the constitution 1973Entry to the EEC 2007The structural reform (a new political map)

T HE PREMISES FOR A CONSENSUAL POLITICAL CULTURE – THE ’ NORMAL ’ EXPLANATIONS Homogenous population (language, religion, ethnicity) A multi-party system An ideal of equality – lack of certain privileged groups A republican democratic ideal – state and civil society are not considered to be opponents ( samfund ) High degree of trust (in government and other citizens) A shared understanding of a joint (national) destiny A high degree of organisational/political experience

E XAMPLES OF INSTITUTIONALISED FORMS OF CONSENSUAL POLITICAL CULTURE The consensual culture during the legislative work in parliament The self-organised labour market policy New forms of advisory boards in local governments Board of technology assessment: consensus conferences, expert hearings etc.

T HE CONSENSUAL CULTURE IN THE D ANISH PARLIAMENT The classical form of lobbyism is not common in the Danish parliament. Several commissions with representatives from organised interests at the beginning of the law processes The constitutional requirement of minimum 30 days between the first reading of a bill and the decision in parliament – the open door for external outputs to the standing committee. The tradition of broad coalitions between the political parties (e.g. the budget act).

T HE SELF - ORGANISED LABOUR MARKET Labour market relations are by and large regulated by general agreements between employers and the trade unions. The system goes back to A well-developed system of negotiations and arbitration. Few examples of government interventions. Both central and decentral institutions

N EW ADVISORY BOARDS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS From the right be heard (1980s) to fully integrated partners in local decision-making Function in many local areas (’perish’) as the coupling between the local civil society (e.g. sports associations, the church etc) and the local government in matters concerning service delivery. Although no formal decision-making competences, there is a committment among politicians and civil servants to pay attention to what is being said and discard citizen voices.

C ONSENSUS CONFERENCES ORGANISED BY THE TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT BOARD The first one was held in 1987 (based on US experiments) A group of ’lay-citizens’ are chosen to examine a technological issue, discuss possible problems, cross-examine experts, and arrive at a consensual recommendation. The form has been tried outside the field of technology assessment (e.g. the Euro referendum in 2002) Are taken seriously and into account by the politicians

S OME CONCLUSIONS The political consensual culture in Denmark is based on years of experiences. However, that does not mean that certain institutional forms cannot function outside Denmark. A couple of things are worth remembering though: The Danish style of consensual culture is more time-consuming. It also requires a more open attitude towards other actors in politics. Consensus means compromising with ideals, ideologies and world views.