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The Importance and Limits of Party Government: Problems of Governance in Denmark *
Author(s) -
Damgaard Erik
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
scandinavian political studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9477
pISSN - 0080-6757
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9477.1984.tb00294.x
Subject(s) - dilemma , politics , representation (politics) , government (linguistics) , corporate governance , political science , public administration , democracy , face (sociological concept) , danish , political economy , control (management) , business , sociology , economics , law , social science , philosophy , linguistics , management , epistemology , finance
Pluralist democracies face the dilemma of reconciling representation of interests and government control. The tension between representation and governance is a problem for political parties in particular and has presumably become more important in recent years, at least in Denmark. Using data from questionnaire surveys of Danish political elites it is shown that interest organizations and bureaucrats indeed pose problems for party government. Some institutional changes might lighten the tasks of parties, but there is no way of avoiding the basic democratic dilemma.