Skip to main content

Get access to more books. Log in with your institution.

The Danish Voter: Democratic Ideals and Challenges

Rune Stubager, Kasper M. Hansen, Michael S. Lewis-Beck, and Richard Nadeau

You don't have access to this book. Please try to log in with your institution. Log in

For many international experts, politicians, and commentators, Denmark stands out as an ideal society with a well-functioning welfare state, low levels of corruption, and a high degree of social and political stability. Like other countries, however, Denmark faces challenges brought on by overall societal changes—particularly the challenges of maintaining a prosperous economy and from the growing number of immigrants with different ethnic and religious backgrounds that have left their mark on Danish society over the past 50 years. But how have Danish voters reacted to these challenges?

The authors of The Danish Voter investigate a series of interesting questions concerning voters' reactions to these macrosocial challenges and how their reactions affect the foundations for the ideal. Indeed, due to an electoral system open to new influences, the Danish case is an important test case for theories about political development of contemporary Western societies.

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1. An Ideal under Pressure
Chapter 2. Social Challenges and Voters
Chapter 3. The Danish Political Context
Chapter 4. Social Structure: A Polarizing Electorate
Chapter 5. The Withering of a Cleavage?
Chapter 6. Ideology and Vote Choice
Chapter 7. Taxation, Immigration, and Party Choice
Chapter 8. Throwing the Rascals Out
Chapter 9. A Challenge to Democracy?
Chapter 10. Conclusion
Footnotes
References
Index

Citable Link

Published: 2021

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

ISBN(s)

978-0-472-13226-3 (hardcover)
978-0-472-12833-4 (ebook)

Subject

Resources

Three bar graphs comparing the level of GDP, government spending, and tax revenue for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the US.

Graph showing GDP, government spending and tax revenue for 11 countries

Three bar graphs comparing the level of inequality, generalized trust, and perceived corruption for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the US.

Graph showing inequality, trust and corruption for 11 countries

Bar graph showing the support for seven types of public spending.

Bar graph showing support for spending on 7 welfare items in Denmark 2019

Line graph showing the percentage of voters who 1) switch party from one election to the next, 2) decided how to vote during the campaign, 3) voted for the four “old” parties.

Line graph showing the share of votes for 4 parties, of voters deciding during the campaign and of voters changing party 1971-2019

Three line graphs showing the development in GDP growth, balance of payments, unemployment, inflation, public spending, and public debt.

Three line graphs showing the development of Danish economy 1971-2018

Line graph showing the development in the share of non-Western, Western, and Eastern European immigrants and descendants.

Line graph showing the share of Western, East-European and Non-Western immigrants 1980-2018

Line graph showing the share of voters’ agenda devoted to, respectively, the economy, welfare, and immigration.

Line graph showing voter attention to the economy, welfare and immigration 1971-2019

seats disproportionality and the number of effective parties for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the US.

Two bar graphs showing disproportionality and effective number of parties in 11 countries

Timeline and “family tree” of the development of Danish political parties.

Chart showing the development of the Danish party system 1870-2020

Two line graphs showing electoral support for the seven major Danish parties.

Two line graphs showing support for Danish parties 1971-2019

seats disproportionality and the number of effective parties for Denmark.

Line graph showing the development in disproportionality and effective number of parties 1971-2019

Two line graphs showing the development in the positions of the seven major parties on the economic and cultural dimensions.

Two line graphs showing the parties' positions on the economic and cultural dimensions

Line graph showing the support for the left bloc among men and women.

Line graph showing support for the left bloc for men and women

Line graph showing the support for the left bloc among six different age groups.

Line graph showing support for the left bloc for different age groups

Line graph showing the support for the left bloc among five different generations.

Line graph showing support for the left bloc for different generations

Line graph showing the support for the left bloc among voters with compulsory schooling and secondary schooling from 1971 to 2019.

Line graph showing support for the left bloc for high and low education groups

Line graph showing the support for the left bloc among four groups: 1) men, compulsory schooling; 2) men, secondary schooling; 3) women, compulsory schooling; and 4) women, secondary schooling.

Line graph showing support for the left bloc for high and low education groups for men and women

Two maps showing the support for the left bloc across Denmark in the 1973 and 2019 election.

Map of Denmark showing support for left bloc 1971

Two maps showing the support for the left bloc across Denmark in the 1973 and 2019 election.

Map of Denmark showing support for left bloc 2019

Line graph showing the support for the left bloc among voters living in the cities and voters living in the countryside.

Line graph showing support for the left bloc for voters in the city and the countryside