DOCSLIB.ORG

Our Supporters

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

19th LI Human Rights Bulletin Liberal International's Human Rights Committee Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 9:22 AM FEATURES LI 2021 WIPP Index • Liberal Principles of Digitalisation and Human Rights • Job Call: Human Rights Programme Officer • Statements Liberal International Women in Political Parties Index Advocating for women in politics is a mission that Liberal International has undertaken over many years. LI has now opened our call for responses to the 2021 Women in Political Parties Index (WIPP Index), marking the second year that this ground-breaking index is open to our membership. Using an online platform, this first-of-its-kind tool is designed to assist LI member parties in boosting inclusivity within their party structures and to advance the presence of women in politics. The Index is now OPEN to the entire membership! All international officers should have received an e-mail on 16 February with the instructions for participation. If you are an international officer and have not received the e-mail, please reach out to the LI Secretariat. Read more about the WIPP Index ICYMI: The first-ever Liberal International Gender Equality Report is available online See and download the 2020 Gender Equality Report JOINT LI & RADIKALE VENSTRE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED: LIBERAL PRINCIPLES OF DIGITALISATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS Commissioner Margrethe Vestager and journalist Maria Ressa join LI in the launch of our digitalisation campaign Joining us for the successful campaign launch, Commissioner Vestager and Maria Ressa both stressed the urgency in addressing the human rights related aspects of digitalisation. As technology continues to develop at break-neck speed, liberals need to be at the forefront of protecting individuals and their rights in the digital age. With this campaign, Liberal International and Radikale Venstre wish to illustrate and explain what human rights mean online, why it is important to protect them, and what should be done to do so. Too many citizens are not aware of what their digital rights are, or how they relate to our rights in the physical world. This campaign will strive to raise awareness and to increase the knowledge of digital issues for liberals everywhere. Read more about the campaign Watch the launch event DIGITALISATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS The digital divide solidifies inequality and undermines equality of opportunity Legislation on digital rights must be robust enough for the worst offenders The coronavirus pandemic has served as a stark reminder of the importance of internet access for As we have seen how rapidly democratic norms participation in society. Lockdowns and other may be dismantled in EU countries such as severe restrictions on movement have forced a Hungary and Poland, it is essential for liberals to large part of the world’s population to move both consider the implications a piece of legislation may professional and social interactions online. With an have also in authoritarian countries and ensure as increasingly large portion of our lives being far as possible that it is robust enough to withstand conducted virtually, internet access has become a both benevolent and malevolent rulers. crucial tool for individuals to take advantage of their opportunities in society. Read the article Read the article Ugandan MP Flavia Kalule Nabagabe calls on international community to speak out in LI webinar On 10 February, Liberal International brought together Flavia Kalule Nabagabe, MP-elect and Leader of the women’s league for the NUP, and Astrid Thors, chair of the LI Human Rights Committee, to discuss the developments in Uganda since the elections. Today, many representatives and supporters of the opposition movement the National Unity Platform (NUP) are either missing, imprisoned, in hospital, or recovering after the presidential and parliamentary elections that took place on January 14th. Opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known as Bobi Wine, was until recently, held under house arrest. Read more about the event Watch the webinar STATEMENTS In a statement to the 63rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, Liberal International has called for Egypt's authorities to take action against violence against women and women human rights defenders. Read the statement On Human Rights Day 2020, the LI HRC recalled a year where a global pandemic has too often been used as an excuse for authoritarians and dictators, across the globe, to increase their own power at the expense of the rights of their people or the opposition in their countries. Read the statement Liberal International and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation expressed deep concern at the continued human rights violations in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections in Uganda, which took place on January 14th. Violations include arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture. Read the statement UPDATE FROM THE SECRETARIAT JOB CALL: HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAMME OFFICER Liberal International (LI) is offering an experienced individual, with a demonstrable knowledge of human rights and international relations, the opportunity to help develop and implement the programmatic human rights work of Liberal International. The Human Rights Officer is key to ensuring that Liberal International and its Human Rights Committee (LI HRC) meets its mission and objectives by generating and delivering programmatic and policy outputs that support liberal and democratic progressive political parties from around the world in their efforts to promote sensible human rights policies on a national and international level. Read more below and apply by 3rd March! Read more and apply Read letter from Senior Human Rights Programme Officer Mikaela Hellman Sign up for our monthly newsletter Follow us on social media: UPCOMING EVENTS DATE EVENT Until further notice Liberal International Office working remotely 16 February 2021 WIPP Index survey collection opens Mind the Gender Gap: Supporting Women in Political Parties 15 March Liberal International Parallel Event at the UN Commission on the Status of Women Stronger Together: Women’s Network Integration 24 March In cooperation with D66 INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK TWITTER WEBSITE OUR SUPPORTERS Liberal International · 1 Whitehall Pl, London, London SW1A 2HD, United Kingdom This email was sent to [email protected]. To stop receiving emails, click here. Created with NationBuilder, software for leaders..
Recommended publications
  • Initiating, Planning and Managing Coalitions

    Initiating, Planning and Managing Coalitions

    INITIATING, PLANNING AND MANAGING COALITIONS AN AFRICAN LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE HANDBOOK INITIATING, PLANNING AND MANAGING COALITIONS CONTRIBUTORS Gilles Bassindikila Justin Nzoloufoua Lucrèce Nguedi Leon Schreiber Solly Msimanga Helen Zille Lotfi Amine Hachemi Assoumane Kamal Soulé Madonna Kumbu Kumbel Serge Mvukulu Bweya-Nkiama Tolerance Itumeleng Lucky Daniel Tshireletso Maître Boutaina Benmallam Richard Nii Amarh Nana Ofori Owusu Mutale Nalumango Dr Choolwe Beyani PUBLICATION COORDINATOR Nangamso Kwinana TRANSLATION Mathieu Burnier & Marvin Mncwabe at LoluLwazi Business Support DESIGN Vernon Kallis at LoluLwazi Business Support EDITORS Iain Gill Gijs Houben Martine Van Schoor Daniëlle Brouwer Masechaba Mdaka Nangamso Kwinana For further information and distribution Africa Liberal Network 3rd Floor Travel House, 6 Hood Avenue Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196 The Republic of South Africa Direct: +27 87 806 2676 Telephone: +27 11 880 8851 Mobile: +27 73 707 8513 CONTRIBUTORS [email protected] www.africaliberalnetwork.org 2 3 INITIATING, PLANNING AND MANAGING COALITIONS AN AFRICAN LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE HANDBOOK A Word from our President 4 CONTENTS 5 Our Executive Committee 7 About the Author 8 Introduction 10 Methodology 12 Foreward 15 In Memoriam 16 Initiating - The Pre-Election Phase 30 Planning - Pre-Coalition Phase 38 Managing - The Governing Phase 3 INITIATING, PLANNING AND MANAGING COALITIONS Dear reader, We are delighted and proud to share with you, this publication relating to initiating, planning and managing coalitions.
  • What Is Neo-Liberalism? Justifications of Deregulating Financial Markets in Norway and Finland © SIFO 2015 Project Note No 6 – 2015

    What Is Neo-Liberalism? Justifications of Deregulating Financial Markets in Norway and Finland © SIFO 2015 Project Note No 6 – 2015

    Project note no 6-2015 Pekka Sulkunen What is Neo-liberalism? Justifications of deregulating financial markets in Norway and Finland © SIFO 2015 Project Note no 6 – 2015 NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH Sandakerveien 24 C, Building B P.O. Box 4682 Nydalen N-0405 Oslo www.sifo.no Due to copyright restrictions, this report is not to be copied from or distributed for any purpose without a special agreement with SIFO. Reports made available on the www.sifo.no site are for personal use only. Copyright infringement will lead to a claim for compensation. Prosjektrapport nr.6 - 2015 Tittel Antall sider Dato 48 27.10.2015 Title ISBN ISSN What is Neo-liberalism? Justifications of deregulating financial markets in Norway and Finland Forfatter(e) Prosjektnummer Faglig ansvarlig sign. Pekka Sulkunen 11201014 Oppdragsgiver Norges Forskningsråd Sammendrag Rapporten dokumenter at dereguleringen av den norske og finske økonomien først og fremst handlet om politikk og politiske prosesser, og i liten grad begrunnet i økonomisk teori. Heller ikke neoliberal filosofi slik vi kjenner den fra USA og Storbritannia spilte noen stor rolle i de to landene. Isteden handlet det om forestillingen om, og fremveksten av, en ny type velferdsstat med behov for en moralsk legitimering av autonomi. Summary The report documents that the deregulation of the Norwegian and Finnish economy primarily was about politics and political processes, and to a much lesser extent about justifications rooted in economic theory. Nor neoliberal philosophy as we know it from the US and Britain played a major role in the two countries. Instead, it was about the notion, and the emergence of, a new kind of welfare state in need of a moral legitimization of autonomy.
  • Liberal Or Illiberal? Discord Within the Danish-Swedish Pacific Community Pertti Joenniemi DIIS Working Paper 2011:23 WORKING PAPER

    Liberal Or Illiberal? Discord Within the Danish-Swedish Pacific Community Pertti Joenniemi DIIS Working Paper 2011:23 WORKING PAPER

    DIIS workingDIIS WORKING PAPER 2011:23paper Liberal or Illiberal? Discord within the Danish-Swedish Pacific Community Pertti Joenniemi DIIS Working Paper 2011:23 WORKING PAPER 1 DIIS WORKING PAPER 2011:23 PERTTI JOENNIEMI is Senior Researcher, DIIS, Copenhagen e-mail: [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper is part of an international research project on the theme “Decentring the West. The Idea of De- mocracy and the Struggle for Hegemony”, supoorted by the Estonian Science Foundation. An early version was presented at a DIIS-NUPI seminar organized by Stefano Guzzini as well as at a CAST-seminar at the University of Copenhagen. I would like to thank the participants of both seminars for comments and critique, in particular Rasmus Fonnesbæk Andersen, Ulrich Pram Gad, Peter Harder, Henning Koch, Iver Neumann and Vibeke Tjalve. I would also like to ac- knowledge the rather perceptive comments presented by Anders Björnsson, Stefan Borg, Erik Ringmar and Brendan Sweeney. DIIS Working Papers make available DIIS researchers’ and DIIS project partners’ work in progress towards proper publishing. They may include important documentation which is not necessarily published elsewhere. DIIS Working Papers are published under the responsibility of the author alone. DIIS Working Papers should not be quoted without the express permission of the author. DIIS WORKING PAPER 2011:23 © The author and DIIS, Copenhagen 2011 Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS Strandgade 56, DK-1401 Copenhagen, Denmark Ph: +45 32 69 87 87 Fax: +45 32 69 87 00 E-mail:
  • Dimensions and Alignments in European Union Politics: Cognitive Constraints and Partisan Responses

    Dimensions and Alignments in European Union Politics: Cognitive Constraints and Partisan Responses

    Working Paper Series in European Studies Volume 1, Number 3 Dimensions and Alignments in European Union Politics: Cognitive Constraints and Partisan Responses DR. SIMON HIX DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Houghton Street London, WC2A 2AE United Kingdom ([email protected]) EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE: GILLES BOUSQUET KEITH COHEN COLLEEN DUNLAVY ANDREAS KAZAMIAS LEON LINDBERG ELAINE MARKS ANNE MINER ROBERT OSTERGREN MARK POLLACK GREGORY SHAFFER MARC SILBERMAN JONATHAN ZEITLIN Copyright © 1998 All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form without permission of the author. European Studies Program, International Institute, University of Wisconsin--Madison Madison, Wisconsin http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/eur/ 1 Dimensions and Alignments in European Union Politics: Cognitive Constraints and Partisan Responses Simon Hix Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom Abstract As the European Union (EU) has evolved, the study agenda has shifted from ‘European integration’ to ‘EU politics’. Missing from this new agenda, however, is an understanding of the ‘cognitive constraints’ on actors, and how actors respond: i.e. the shape of the EU ‘political space’ and the location of social groups and competition between actors within this space. The article develops a theoretical framework for understanding the shape of the EU political space (the interaction between an Integration-Independence and a Left-Right dimension and the location of class and sectoral groups within this map), and tests this framework on the policy positions of the Socialist, Christian Democrat and Liberal party leaders between 1976 and 1994 (using the techniques of the ECPR Party Manifestos Group Project).
  • ESS9 Appendix A3 Political Parties Ed

    ESS9 Appendix A3 Political Parties Ed

    APPENDIX A3 POLITICAL PARTIES, ESS9 - 2018 ed. 3.0 Austria 2 Belgium 4 Bulgaria 7 Croatia 8 Cyprus 10 Czechia 12 Denmark 14 Estonia 15 Finland 17 France 19 Germany 20 Hungary 21 Iceland 23 Ireland 25 Italy 26 Latvia 28 Lithuania 31 Montenegro 34 Netherlands 36 Norway 38 Poland 40 Portugal 44 Serbia 47 Slovakia 52 Slovenia 53 Spain 54 Sweden 57 Switzerland 58 United Kingdom 61 Version Notes, ESS9 Appendix A3 POLITICAL PARTIES ESS9 edition 3.0 (published 10.12.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Denmark, Iceland. ESS9 edition 2.0 (published 15.06.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden. Austria 1. Political parties Language used in data file: German Year of last election: 2017 Official party names, English 1. Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) - Social Democratic Party of Austria - 26.9 % names/translation, and size in last 2. Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) - Austrian People's Party - 31.5 % election: 3. Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) - Freedom Party of Austria - 26.0 % 4. Liste Peter Pilz (PILZ) - PILZ - 4.4 % 5. Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne) - The Greens – The Green Alternative - 3.8 % 6. Kommunistische Partei Österreichs (KPÖ) - Communist Party of Austria - 0.8 % 7. NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS) - NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum - 5.3 % 8. G!LT - Verein zur Förderung der Offenen Demokratie (GILT) - My Vote Counts! - 1.0 % Description of political parties listed 1. The Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is a social above democratic/center-left political party that was founded in 1888 as the Social Democratic Worker's Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei, or SDAP), when Victor Adler managed to unite the various opposing factions.
  • PAPPA – Parties and Policies in Parliaments

    PAPPA – Parties and Policies in Parliaments

    PAPPA Parties and Policies in Parliament Version 1.0 (August 2004) Data description Martin Ejnar Hansen, Robert Klemmensen and Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard Political Science Publications No. 3/2004 Name: PAPPA: Parties and Policies in Parliaments, version 1.0 (August 2004) Authors: Martin Ejnar Hansen, Robert Klemmensen & Peter Kurrild- Klitgaard. Contents: All legislation passed in the Danish Folketing, 1945-2003. Availability: The dataset is at present not generally available to the public. Academics should please contact one of the authors with a request for data stating purpose and scope; it will then be determined whether or not the data can be released at present, or the requested results will be provided. Data will be made available on a website and through Dansk Data Arkiv (DDA) when the authors have finished their work with the data. Citation: Hansen, Martin Ejnar, Robert Klemmensen and Peter Kurrild- Klitgaard (2004): PAPPA: Parties and Policies in Parliaments, version 1.0, Odense: Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark. Variables The total number of variables in the dataset is 186. The following variables have all been coded on the basis of the Folketingets Årbog (the parliamentary hansard) and (to a smaller degree) the parliamentary website (www.ft.dk): nr The number given in the parliamentary hansard (Folketingets Årbog), or (in recent years) the law number. sam The legislative session. eu Whether or not the particular piece of legislation was EU/EEC initiated. change Whether or not the particular piece of legislation was a change of already existing legislation. vedt Whether the particular piece of legislation was passed or not.
  • Factsheet: the Danish Folketinget

    Factsheet: the Danish Folketinget

    Directorate-General for the Presidency Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments Factsheet: The Danish Folketinget 1. At a glance Denmark is a Constitutional Monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The Folketinget is a unicameral Parliament composed of 179 Members. The two self-governing regions, Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, each elect two Members. Of the other 175 Members, 135 are elected from ten multi-Member constituencies on a party list, proportional representation system using the d'Hondt method. The remaining 40 seats are allocated to ensure proportionality at a national level. Elections of the Folketinget must take place every four years, unless the Monarch, on the advice of the Prime Minister, calls for early elections. The general election on 5 June 2019 gave the "Red Bloc" a parliamentary majority in support of Social Democrats leader Mette Frederiksen as Prime Minister. The coalition comprises the Social Democrats, the Social Liberals, Socialist People's Party, the Red– Green Alliance, the Faroese Social Democratic Party and the Greenlandic Siumut, and won 93 of the 179 seats. The Government, announced on 27 June, is a single-party government. 2. Composition Results of the Folketinget elections on 5 June 2019 Party EP affiliation % Seats Socialdemokraterne (Social Democrats) 25,9% 48 Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti) (V) (Liberals) 23,45% 43 Dansk Folkeparti (DF) (Danish People's Party) 8,7% 16 Det Radikale Venstre (Danish Social Liberal Party) 8,6% 16 Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF) (Socialist People's Party) 7,7% 14 Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) 13 6,9% Det Konservative Folkeparti (Conservative People's Party) 6,6% 12 The Alternative (Alternativet) 3% 5 The New Right (Nye Borgerlige) 2,4% 4 Liberal Alliance (Liberal Alliance) 2,3% 4 Others <1 % 0 Faroe Islands Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin) 28,8% 1 Javnaðarflokkurin (Social Democratic Party) 25,5% 1 Greenland Inuit Ataqatigiit (Inuit Community) 33,4% 1 Siumut 29,4% 1 Forward 179 Turnout: 84.6% 3.
  • WFD Programme Completion Report for the 2012-2015 Funding Period

    WFD Programme Completion Report for the 2012-2015 Funding Period

    Programme Completion Report April 2012 - March 2015 Accountable Grant and Grant in Aid Prepared by: Graeme Ramshaw [email protected] Jo-Ann Sneddon [email protected] Programme Completion Report: Westminster Foundation for Democracy April 2015 List of Acronyms ACDP African Christian Democratic Party ALN African Liberal Network BiH Bosnia and Herzegovina BMD Botswana Movement for Democracy CSO Civil Society Organisation CEE Central and Eastern European Network for Gender Issues D66 Democrats 66 (Netherlands) DA Democratic Alliance (South Africa) DUA Democrat Union of Africa DFID Department for International Development DKO Dar al Khibra (Iraq Research Centre) DRC Democratic Republic of Congo EALA East Africa Legislative Assembly ECA Europe and Central Asia EET External Evaluation Team EU European Union FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office FDD Forum for Democracy and Development (Zambia) FDP Free Democratic Party (Germany) FER Final Evaluation Report GTU Gender Technical Unit IPA Instruments for Pre-Accession LGBT Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender M&E Monitoring & Evaluation MENA Middle East and North Africa NABRO National Assembly Budget and Research Office (Nigeria) NCA National Constituent Assembly (Tunisia) PAC Public Accounts Committee PFM Public Finance Management PCR Programme Completion Report SDA Stranka Demokrastske Akcije (Party of Democratic Action – Bosnia) VFM Value for Money VVD Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy - Netherlands) WFD Westminster Foundation for Democracy
  • DENMARK by Susanne Wiborg

    DENMARK by Susanne Wiborg

    DENMARK by Susanne Wiborg Wiborg, S. (2012). Denmark. In C. L. Glenn & J. De Groof (Eds.), Balancing freedom, autonomy and accountability in education: Volume 2 (99-109). Tilburg, NL: Wolf Legal Publishers. Overview The public system of education in Denmark is characterized by its organization on comprehensive principles. The education system is an all-through system of education from grade 1 to 9/10 with mixed ability classes. It does not operate a transfer from elementary to lower secondary education, which is common elsewhere, and, consequently, avoids any form of selection at this early stage. Instead, selection occurs at the upper secondary stage. In contrast to Sweden and Norway, which also have comprehensive organization at this stage, the upper secondary education in Denmark is highly divided. The first track is an academic upper secondary school, gymnasium (3 years), (or, HF, højere forberedelseseksamen, Higher Preparatory Qualification, 2 years), the second track consists of two options, business and technical education, (HHX, højere handelseksamen, Higher Business Qualification, 3 years; HTX, højere tekniske uddannelser, Higher Technical Education, 3 years), and the third track includes a range of vocational training programmes. In the past, the academic upper secondary school, gymnasium, was an elitist school catering for a small number of students from the higher ranks of society, leaving the other educational options with lower parity of esteem. Today, this has been more or less cancelled out. Firstly, the gymnasium now enrolls more than 50 percent of the pupil population, so they can no longer be seen as elitist. Secondly, the quality of technical and vocational training has improved considerably through state and social partner intervention.
  • A Meritocratic Origin of Egalitarian Behavior

    A Meritocratic Origin of Egalitarian Behavior

    A Meritocratic Origin of Egalitarian Behavior Alexander W. Cappelen* Johanna Mollerstrom† Bjørn-Atle Reme‡ Bertil Tungodden* Abstract: The meritocratic fairness ideal implies that inequalities in earnings are regarded as fair only when they reflect differences in performance. Consequently, implementation of the meritocratic fairness ideal requires complete information about individual performances, but in practice, such information is often not available. We study redistributive behavior in the common, but previously understudied, situation where there is uncertainty about whether in- equality is reflecting performance or luck. We show theoretically that meritocrats in such situations can become very egalitarian in their behavior, and that the degree to which this happens depends on how they trade off the probability of making mistakes and the size of mistakes that they risk making when redistributing under uncertainty. Our laboratory experi- ments show, in line with our model, that uncertainty about the source of inequality provides a strong egalitarian pull on the behavior of meritocrats. In addition, the external validity of our framework, and the results from the laboratory, are supported in two general population surveys conducted in the United States and Norway. Key words: inequality, fairness, redistribution, responsibility, performance, luck, experi- ment, survey. JEL codes: C91, D63, D81, H23. We are grateful for financial support for this project from the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence Scheme, FAIR project No 262675. For very helpful comments and suggestions, we thank Dan Houser, Matthias Sutter and Georg Weizsäcker, and seminar participants at Aalto University, Copenhagen University, CREED at University of Amsterdam, DIW Berlin, Erasmus University, Frisch Centre, George Mason University, University of Leuven, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, New York University, Norwegian Business School, Tilburg University, Uppsala University, University of Zurich, and ESA World Meetings 2018.
  • Denmark's Global Role

    Denmark's Global Role

    Danish approaches to security and aid Denmark’s global role Denmark was among the most generous aid donors from 1960 to 2000. A new government in 2001 reduced Danish assistance considerably and put more emphasis on security issues. Denmark now has a renewed focus on aid, particularly in Africa. enmark did not get Summary D involved in development cooperation • From 1960 to 2001, development assistance became a key focus until the early 1960s. for Denmark. There was rapid growth in the scope of assistance, However, it quickly agreed to and collaboration between political parties and Danish civil society. adopt the UN standard of • From 2002 to 2005, cutbacks in development and environmental Alamy / Flag illustrations rich countries dedicating assistance were imposed by a new government. It was a period 0.7% of their gross national product (GNP) to official of parliamentary disagreement and strong criticism of the development assistance (ODA). By1979, in spite of its government from the civil society organizations. relatively late start, the country was among the first to attain • Between 2002 and 2005 a new activist foreign policy placed this target. greater emphasis on security. New attempts were made to link In 1992, Denmark’s ODA passed the 1% mark, and with civil assistance to military actions. Denmark had a close alliance minor fluctuations it stayed at that level for the next nine with the US and participated in the Iraq invasion without a UN years. In 1993 Denmark began giving special environmental mandate. assistance to both low- and medium-income countries. The • From 2006 until the present, there has been a gradual increase in Danish parliament, or Folketinget, set the target for development assistance to a level slightly above 0.8%.
  • The Enduring Nature of Egalitarian Education in Scandinavia: an English Perspective

    The Enduring Nature of Egalitarian Education in Scandinavia: an English Perspective

    FORUM Volume 51, Number 2, 2009 www.wwwords.co.uk/FORUM The Enduring Nature of Egalitarian Education in Scandinavia: an English perspective SUSANNE WIBORG ABSTRACT It is the aim of this article to contribute towards an understanding of why Scandinavia and England have achieved very different levels of social integration in their state school systems. Introduction From an English perspective, the Scandinavian countries appear to have a rather radical form of education. Throughout Denmark, Norway and Sweden, an almost universal public school from grade 1 to 9 or 10 with mixed ability classes has been introduced. The primary and lower secondary parts of the public school are integrated into one system of all-through education, where selection to further education is postponed until the age of 15 or 16. The private school sector is relatively small, and even though it has expanded to some extent over the last decade, especially in Denmark and Sweden, it still remains a limited sector. Moreover, the schools within the private sector are not elitist preserved for a wealthy class, but educational, political and religious in orientation, catering for those who wish to uphold certain values and beliefs. They do not operate a system of entrance exams in order to select the most “academic gifted” children; nor do they charge school fees that only wealthy parents can afford but variable fees based on parental income. Moreover, the schools are funded by the state up to 90 per cent. In this way, the egalitarian principle has been extended to the private sector. It is interesting to note in this respect that the Swedish private schools, Kunskabsskolan, which are currently receiving political attention in the United Kingdom, are basically comprehensive in their organisation.