| Abstract: | Abstract In 1932/33 the Danish Ministry of Agriculture established a number of government export boards with fairly wide-ranging powers. In spite of strong liberal traditions, Danish farmers soon learned to appreciate government intervention. Firstly, the administration was entrusted entirely to the agricultural organisations, giving them wide opportunities for influence. Secondly, through the export boards, the agricultural interest was afforded the chance of controlling the marketing stage in the same way as it already dominated the production stage via the cooperative movement. Starting off from this example, we shall discuss in more general terms the integration mechanisms responsible for bringing about close teamwork between organisations and government. This teamwork came about in large measure for reasons of technical administration, the organisations being able to offer a complementary administrative machine which at the same time functioned as a harmonising element for the government. Moreover the Danish political system, characterised as it was and is by consensus democracy and minority parliamentarism, facilitated close integration of the organisations in policy formulation and implementation. |
