The Question of How Denmark Got To Be Denmark : Establishing Rule of Law and Fighting Corruption in the State of Denmark 1660 - 1900

Abstract

This article shows how fighting corruption and establishing rule of law has been on the agenda of the Danish rule for more than 350 years and how the level of corruption in the administration of state came to be limited by the middle of the 19th century. The article argues that fighting corruption in an attempt to consolidate the rule has been an integral part of the process of state building in Denmark since the establishment of the absolute monarchy in 1660. The institutional framework set up at this point along with continuing reforms to improve the administration in the period of absolutism between 1660 and 1849 came to form an important basis for an administrative culture based on the rule of law which came to minimize corruption. The building of the absolute monarchial state power came to be ensured through the establishment of a strong and comprehensive state hierarchy with a king at the top level who set out to guarantee the rule of law and attempted to be merciful to his subjects. The king was not only head of state but also the secular leader of the Lutheran state church, and Lutheran-based values and institutions were reinforced in the governance of the country. These elements in combination with the establishment of an increasingly Weberian bureaucracy after 1660 helped to curb corruption in the Danish administration of state, and this is likely to have played a key role in establishing Denmark’s present high level of quality of government and global position as a best performer in terms of fighting corruption.