Open AccessThe Danish Paradox: Intolerance in the Land of Perpetual Compromise
Author(s) -
Thorfinn Stainforth
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
review of european and russian affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1718-4835
DOI - 10.22215/rera.v5i1.204
Subject(s) - xenophobia , egalitarianism , nationalism , political economy , politics , elitism , ethos , misnomer , political science , compromise , sociology , development economics , law , economics , philosophy , theology
What explains the apparent contradiction between Denmark's reputation as a liberal, tolerant society, and the recent rise in wide-spread xenophobia there? The root causes of the present wave of xenophobia are fundamentally similar to the rest of Europe: they grow primarily out of the tensions inherent in the transition from an industrial to post-industrial society. However, its unusual virulence across an apparently inclusive mainstream political spectrum, and departure from the established norms in the country, is an outgrowth of the present challenge to the egalitarian, anti-modern ethos that has steered Denmark toward its present state. Modern Danish nationalism, heavily influenced by the ideas of N.F.S. Grundtvig, has emphasized anti-elitism, decentralization, and egalitarianism. However, for the first time since at least the 1920s these political cornerstones are being seriously challenged and re-examined. Immigration has become one of the symbols of, and primary battlefield in, the challenge to the socil consensus that has existed throughout most of the 20th century.