Denmark

This chapter examines Denmark's response to the 2008 financial crisis. It first provides an overview of four legacies of Danish history that created modern Denmark: Lutheranism, statism, the solution of the national question, and the construction of layered homogeneity. It considers how the Reformation of 1536 established Lutheranism as the religion of the Danish monarchy and how Denmark made the transition from empire to nation-state. It then explores Denmark's perceptions of vulnerability as it tries to survive within an increasingly competitive international economy. It shows that Denmark in the early 2000s had a political economy blessed with very thick institutions that were expert-oriented and inclusive and that facilitated negotiation, consensus-making, and social partnerships. The chapter also describes the origins of the 2008 financial crisis and Denmark's response to it in the form of six Bank Packages.