Disagreement on conception of democracy hampers Danish cooperation within the EU

(Photo © Radu Bercan, Shutterstock)

By Claus Rosenkrantz Hansen

One of the key values shared by Denmark and the EU is democratic governance. Thus democracy is a common denominator that ought to make Denmark's cooperation within the EU a relatively straightforward affair.

Recent research, however, reveals that democracy is in fact the main cause of the perpetual scepticism and distrust that characterises Danish membership of the EU. This is especially exemplified by the often vehement reactions in our country to rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

"The EU is seen by Danish EU sceptics as suffering from a democratic deficit, since a court can interfere in the political process and work of elected national representatives. This is the complete opposite of the Danish understanding of democracy and illustrates the complicated and difficult aspects of European cooperation," explains Michael Herslund, who in partnership with colleagues Irene Baron and Carsten Humlebæk, has edited the book Europæiske fællesskaber – Identiteter, fortællinger og konflikter (European communities: Identities, narratives and conflicts).

Democracy, welfare and community
Throughout the book's four chapters, the authors investigate how national narratives and identities end up on a collision course with the joint European narrative of the EU. They do this by analysing the so-called master narrative in a number of countries – namely the narrative that gives rise to the image which a nation wants to have of itself and wants to project.

"The master narrative is the authoritative version of a nation's history. It’s defined by the intellectual elite and the political powers. But the master narrative isn’t necessarily the only narrative at play. It can be challenged by the narratives with which minorities and marginalised groups surround themselves," explains Herslund.

The Danish master narrative is about democracy, welfare and community, told through stories of the cooperative housing movement, the trade union movement and the fight against Nazi occupation.

"This means that democracy means something different for us Danes than it does in other countries in Europe, which have different master narratives. In Denmark we place a high level of trust in our democratically elected politicians, who govern with sovereignty according to the motto 'none above and none besides the Folketing'. Significantly there’s only one single instance since the constitution was introduced in 1849 of the Danish Supreme Court declaring an act of parliament to be in violation of constitutional law,” adds Herslund. 

On a tight leash
In the EU, democracy is interpreted differently. A more ideological conception of democracy prevails, which means that sovereignty lies with the people. Of course representatives of the people are elected, but these representatives are kept on a tight leash by a constitution. If a law is passed that is in contravention of the constitution, a constitutional court promptly kicks into action.

"When the EU presents itself as a democratic project, it’s in the continental sense, the doctrine being that the people are sovereign and a constitutional court permanently monitors the representatives elected by the people. The Danes aren’t on board with that," says Herslund.

The fact that we in Denmark are not keen on the EU’s continental idea of democracy gives rise not only to criticism of the Court of Justice of the European Union, but also to the "us and them" rhetoric apparent in phrases such as "down in the EU" or "the EU can't dictate to us".

"But we’re forgetting that the EU doesn’t exist as a separate entity. The EU consists of 28 member states and Denmark is one of them. Here in Denmark the EU is perceived as a separate and self-contained entity that rules over us – a notion we find intolerable as it clashes with our independent national identity," states Herslund.     

Should European community spirit be based on an entirely different narrative?
The Danish narrative is certainly not the only example of a national identity that conflicts with the European identity. Britain is also an example of a nation whose narrative is on collision course with the European narrative. In the book the authors question whether the EU's version of the European identity is the right one to nurture European community spirit.

"It’s very difficult to synchronise the narratives within the EU as they are so very different. There are many illustrations of this and it’s debatable to what extent the EU's political narrative of creating a sense of community by recognising the same institutions and following the same legislation is indeed the right narrative to constitute a European sense of community," asserts Herslund.

The authors of the book suggest an alternative: the idea of Europe as a historical entity united by its shared cultural heritage in music, literature, architecture and history. Combining a political- and cultural-based narrative, they say, is one way to foster a common European identity. However, even if the EU did shift towards a cultural-based narrative, there are obstacles.

"The next problem is the lack of a common European language. Disagreement on the conception of democracy is just one example of the significance of the absence of a shared language," Herslund believes.
 

More info on Europæiske fællesskaber – Identiteter, fortællinger og konflikter
The other contributors are Kathrine Ravn Jørgensen, Erik Lonning, Lone Kølle Martinsen, Henrik Høeg Müller, Kristian L. Nielsen, Jeppe Juul Petersen and Charlotte Werther.  

Europæiske fællesskaber – Identiteter, fortællinger og konflikter is part of the series Studier i europæisk samarbejde (Studies in European cooperation). The book also presents studies of the national minorities in Scotland and the Basque country. In the last part of the book you can also find Michael Herslunds translation of Ernest Renan's Hvad er en nation? (What is a Nation?).

Michael Herslund, Irene Baron and Carsten Humlebæk are all part of The Centre for the Study of Europe, Department of International Business Communication, CBS.

You can also read the article "Debatten, der blev væk" (only in Danish) about the book called Fra Leviathan til Lissabon (From Leviathan to Lissabon) (2011). This book is also part of the series Studier i europæisk samarbejde.