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Referendum Practice in Denmark

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The Politics of Referendum Use in European Democracies

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Abstract

This chapter covers the analysis of referendum practice in Denmark – a consensus democracy with a strong constitutional basis for the holding of referendums, and where no less than nineteen referendums were held between 1950 and 2017. It provides an outline of available referendum provisions and the context in which these were institutionalized and used. It then analyzes these practices on the basis of this study’s six independent variables. The chapter shows that the strong constitutional referendum requirements make them largely unavoidable and decision-controlling, especially when the EU is concerned. However, both government and opposition parties have an important role to play in triggering them, making them also an outcome of party politics. Also in Denmark, referendums on EU-affairs mainly serve to mediate and depoliticize controversy over the EU.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    International Constitutional Law (1992). Denmark – Constitution; Folketinget (2009). Danmarks Riges Grundlov af 5. juni 1953.

  2. 2.

    Referendums held Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded as they only applied to these countries.

  3. 3.

    IDEA election turnout data Denmark.

  4. 4.

    Idem.

  5. 5.

    Compared to an EU average of 70%; ISSP 2004.

  6. 6.

    Compared to an EU average of 65%; ISSP 2014.

  7. 7.

    ISSP 2004.

  8. 8.

    Idem.

  9. 9.

    See also Sonar (1998). Folkeafstemninger. 30 December 1998. In: Vælgernes Holdning til Direkte Demokrati. http://www.folkestyre.dk/maalinger/Demokrati/dkmaalinger.htm (accessed 6 March 2015); Bock, M. and T. Larsen (29.12.1998). ‘Folkeafstemninger deler Befolkningen’. Jyllands-Posten. http://www.jyllands-posten.dk/protected/premium/indland/ECE3256434/Folkeafstemninger-deler-befolkningen/ (accessed 8 December 2015).

  10. 10.

    GfK Denmark (1999). 17 April 1999. In: Vælgernes Holdning til Direkte Demokrati. http://www.folkestyre.dk/maalinger/Demokrati/dkmaalinger.htm (accessed 6 March 2015).

  11. 11.

    Sonar (1998). Folkeafstemninger. 30 December 1998. In: Vælgernes Holdning til Direkte Demokrati. http://www.folkestyre.dk/maalinger/Demokrati/dkmaalinger.htm (accessed 6 March 2015).

  12. 12.

    Compared to an EU average of 63%; EES 2009.

  13. 13.

    EES 2009.

  14. 14.

    EVS 1999 and 2008.

  15. 15.

    Madsen, J.J. and J. Thobo-Carlsen (7.12.2000). ‘Regeringen Kæmper for Kommisærpost: Det Kræver Partierne i Nice’, Berlingkse Tidende. LexisNexis.

  16. 16.

    Jyllands-Posten (20.6.2007). ‘Fogh Afviser at Fuske Med Folkeafstemning’. Jyllands-Posten. http://jyllands-posten.dk/international/europa/ECE3884718/Fogh-afviser-at-fuske-med-folkeafstemning/ (accessed 7 June 2015).

  17. 17.

    Pop, V. (11.1.2011). ‘Danish PM Sued over Lisbon Treaty’. EU Observer. https://euobserver.com/political/31622 (accessed 10 June 2015).

  18. 18.

    The Copenhagen Post (23.2.2012). ‘No referendum on joining EU fiscal union’. http://cphpost.dk/news/eu/no-referendum-on-joining-eu-fiscal-union.html (accessed 3 March 2018).

  19. 19.

    Standard Eurobarometer 76.

  20. 20.

    Jyllands Posten (1998). 30 December 1998. In: Vælgernes Holdning til Direkte Demokrati. http://www.folkestyre.dk/maalinger/Demokrati/dkmaalinger.htm (accessed 6 March 2015).

  21. 21.

    Folketinget (31.10.1989). Folketingets Forhandlinger 1989/90, spalte 921–939.

  22. 22.

    Socialistisk Folkeparti (1998). Landsmødeberetning: 1998, 19.

  23. 23.

    Enhedslisten (2007). Election Programme 2007.

  24. 24.

    Enhedslisten (2015). Enhedslistens Principprogram 2015.

  25. 25.

    Dansk Folkeparti (1998). Stem Dansk! Election manifesto 1998.

  26. 26.

    Dansk Folkeparti (2001). Fælles Værdier – Fælles Ansvar: Arbejdsprogram for Dansk Folkeparti – som Vedtaget af Dansk Folkepartis Folketingsgruppe, 9.

  27. 27.

    Associated Press International (7.10.1997). ‘Denmark to Hold Fifth EU Referendum in Late May’. LexisNexis.

  28. 28.

    Det Konservative Folkeparti (2005). Election Programme, 6.

  29. 29.

    Jacobsen, H. (27.5.2014). ‘Danes Support EU Patent Court in Referendum’. EurActiv. http://www.euractiv.com/sections/innovation-enterprise/danes-support-eu-patent-court-referendum-302403 (accessed 7 March 2015).

  30. 30.

    Justitsministeriet (2001). Redegørelse for visse Forfatningsretlige Spørgsmål I Forbindelse med Danmarks Ratifikation af Nice-Traktaten. 27 February 2001.

  31. 31.

    Udenrigsministeriet (2004). Redegørelse til Folketinget: Traktat om en Forfatning for Europa som Undertegnet i Rom. 29 October 2004.

  32. 32.

    The Copenhagen Post (23.2.2012). ‘No referendum on joining EU fiscal union’. http://cphpost.dk/news/eu/no-referendum-on-joining-eu-fiscal-union.html (accessed 3 March 2018).

  33. 33.

    Jacobsen, H. (30.4.2015). ‘Denmark announces plan to join EU banking union’. http://www.euractiv.com/section/euro-finance/news/denmark-announces-plan-to-join-eu-banking-union/ (accessed 3 March 2018).

  34. 34.

    Follett, C. (23.1.1986). ‘Danes Clash over Polling Date / EEC Reform Package Referendum’, The Times. LexisNexis.

  35. 35.

    AFP (19.2.1998). ‘Danes to Vote Early, ahead of EU Referendum’. LexisNexis.

  36. 36.

    Standard Eurobarometer 48–49.

  37. 37.

    BBC (28.5.2003). ‘Denmark to Vote on EU Constitution’. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2943418.stm (accessed 6 March 2015).

  38. 38.

    Standard Eurobarometer 58.

  39. 39.

    The Copenhagen Post (13.9.2013). ‘PM Rejects Opposition Call for Swift EU Referendum’. http://cphpost.dk/news/eu/pm-rejects-opposition-call-for-swift-eu-referendum.html (accessed 17 May 2016).

  40. 40.

    The Local (7.10.2014). ‘Denmark to Vote on EU Justice Opt-Out’. http://www.thelocal.dk/20141007/danes-to-vote-on-eu-justice-opt-out (accessed 7 December 2015).

  41. 41.

    Gallup Institute (1961–1973). Gallup Institute for the Newspaper Berlingske Tidende. Compiled in Martens (1979, 188–189).

  42. 42.

    The Copenhagen Post (25.2.2000). ‘Ministers, MPs Disagree on EU Currency Referendum’. LexisNexis.

  43. 43.

    Adler-Nissen, R. (1.10.2013). ‘Copenhagen – Denmark ponders its unwanted referendum’. https://www.friendsofeurope.org/views/copenhagen-denmark-ponders-its-unwanted-referendum (accessed 6 March 2012).

  44. 44.

    Justitsministeriet (7.5.2013). Notat om hvorvidt dansk tilslutning til aftale om en fælles europæisk patentdomstol forudsætter anvendelse af proceduren i grundlovens § 20.

  45. 45.

    Politiken (7.5.2013). ‘Ministry: EU Patent Court May Require Referendum’. http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1964201/ministry-eu-patent-court-may-require referendum/ (accessed 10 December 2015).

  46. 46.

    Adler-Nissen, R. (1.10.2013).

  47. 47.

    EUObserver (26.6.2012). ‘Danish prime minister skips referendum commitments’. https://euobserver.com/tickers/116756 (accessed 20 February 2013).

  48. 48.

    Levring, P. (16.6.2015). ‘EU Faces Trouble from Denmark as Referenda Parties to Set Agenda’. Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-16/eu-faces-trouble-from-denmark-as-referenda-parties-to-set-agenda (accessed 7 December 2015).

  49. 49.

    Rynning, S. and J.R. Clemmensen (20.1.2015). ‘The Absentee: Denmark and the CSDP’. http://www.europeangeostrategy.org/2015/01/absentee-denmark-csdp/ (accessed 8 March 2016).

  50. 50.

    Jacobsen, H. (30.4.2015). ‘Denmark announces plan to join EU banking union’. http://www.euractiv.com/section/euro-finance/news/denmark-announces-plan-to-join-eu-banking-union/ (accessed 3 March 2018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Director of Knowledge Management, The Broker, Den Haag, The Netherlands

    Saskia Hollander

  2. Research fellow, Department of Public Administration and Political Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Saskia Hollander

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Hollander, S. (2019). Referendum Practice in Denmark. In: The Politics of Referendum Use in European Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04197-7_6

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