Conceptualising Domestic Change in Danish Drug Policy. An Investigation of European Drug Strategy's Influence on Danish Drug Policy
Authors
Elkjær, Magnus Møller ; French, Jonathan Søren Jeffrey
Term
4. term
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-05-29
Pages
76
Abstract
This thesis examines how the European Union’s Drug Strategies from 2005 to 2020 have influenced Danish drug policy, a field marked by both openness to change and persistent reservations. Using an inductive, qualitative design, the study applies Mayring’s qualitative content analysis to key Danish and European strategy documents, including the Danish strategy The Fight Against Drugs II (2010), and complements this with three expert interviews. The analysis is guided by Börzel and Risse’s top‑down Europeanisation framework, focusing on goodness‑of‑fit, policy and institutional misfit, and the role of norm entrepreneurs. The inquiry proceeds in three steps: extracting salient ideas, norms, and measures from the Danish strategy; conducting the same extraction for the EU strategies of 2005–2012 and 2013–2020; and assessing practical implementation through interviews. Findings indicate several areas of alignment between EU approaches and Danish policy (such as evidence‑based policymaking, coordination, and certain demand‑reduction measures), yet these alignments are frequently accompanied by institutional misfit. Conflicting underlying ideals have produced uneven implementation of EU‑congruent initiatives in Denmark, pointing to partial but constrained Europeanisation shaped by both adaptation and competing logics.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan EU’s narkotikastrategier fra 2005 til 2020 har påvirket dansk narkotikapolitik, et område der historisk både er forandringsparat og præget af vedvarende forbehold. Med en induktiv, kvalitativ tilgang anvendes Mayrings kvalitative indholdsanalyse til at gennemgå centrale danske og europæiske strategidokumenter, herunder den danske strategi Kampen mod Narko II (2010), og til at supplere med tre ekspertinterviews. Teoretisk bygger studiet på Börzel og Risses top‑down‑ramme for europeanisering med fokus på goodness‑of‑fit, misfit (politik og institutioner) og betydningen af normentreprenører. Analysen gennemføres i tre trin: identifikation af idéer, normer og tiltag i dansk strategi; tilsvarende udtræk fra EU‑strategierne 2005‑2012 og 2013‑2020; og en praksisnær vurdering via interviews. Resultaterne peger på flere sammenfald mellem EU’s tilgang og dansk narkotikapolitik (fx evidensbasering, koordinering og visse efterspørgselsdæmpende initiativer), men også på, at disse ofte ledsages af institutionel mispasning. Underliggende, konfliktende idealer betyder, at EU‑konforme elementer implementeres ujævnt i Danmark, hvilket vidner om en delvis, men begrænset europeanisering præget af både tilpasning og modstridende logikker.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]