In 1994, the Danish Parliament formed a special committee "regarding an analysis of democracy and power in Denmark." The committee issued a report in the spring of 1997 in which a majority of the committee members recommended a Danish democracy and power study. The report stipulated that the duration of the Democracy and Power Study would be 5-7 years and that it should be headed by an independent steering committee consisting of active researchers.
According to the report, the purpose of the Democracy and Power Study is
... to examine the function of democracy in broad terms, including the influence of power structures in organizations and movements and the economic power structures on society, as well as the consequences of internationalization as far as transparency and visibility of decisions, influence and power in society.
The steering committee has, on this background, started research projects in the following areas: Citizenship; Parliament and parties; The public sector in transition; Organizations, businesses and elites; Political decision processes; Opinion formation and the media in the political process; Globalization and internationalization; Long-term perspectives in the study of power and democracy; and Concepts of power and democracy.
Please address any questions about the Study to the
secretariat:
Magtudredningen@ps.au.dk
The book presents the main conclusions from the Danish Democracy and Power Study.
A short version of the conclusions is available in English: Power and Democracy in Denmark. Conclusions
Power and Democracy in Denmark. The Parliamentary Chain of Governance.pdf
by Peter Munk Christiansen & Lise Togeby
Paper delivered at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 2-5, Chicago