The Evolution and Challenges of the Danish Civil Service System

In this article a descriptive analysis of the evolution and current challenges of the Danish civil service system is given. The focus is on the state administration. Theories of path-dependency and the transnational diffusion of ideas inform the empirical analysis. The broad features of the long-term history of the Danish civil service system are analyzed. The basic characteristics of the current internal labor market of the civil service are analyzed as well as some recent changes in the system. Issues of politicization of the civil service are discussed and public opinion concerning the civil service is examined. The Danish civil service system has been characterized by long-term gradual evolution and adoption of many of the prevailing institutions in medieval and modern European state administration. This adaptation to prevailing trends has been predominantly characterized by integration or coexistence with previous institutions and rarely if ever by radical rapid abandonment of previous traditions