Organised by Ann-Christina L. Knudsen (Aarhus University)

Democracy ‘as we know it’ in Europe is often portrayed as a progressive and linear development of ever-more inclusive forms of political representation. New research into the historical and political processes that led to the construction of new forms of political representation will however tell a somewhat different story to the grand, normative narrative of democracy’s development. The aim of this workshop is to discuss new research into a variety of key moments when new forms of political representation in Europe were constructed. The workshop has two key foci: 1) the creation of universal suffrage in the first decade of the twentieth century, and to the European Parliament from the early 1950s to the late 1970s; 2) new forms of parliamentary representation in relation to the development of parliamentary diplomacy and international organisations from the interwar period to the end of the Cold War.

Saturday 10:30-12:30

Lecture Hall 3 

• Karen Gram-Skjoldager (Aarhus University):
  “The Function and Role of Danish Parliamentarian Delegations to the League of Nations 1920-1939”
• Norbert Götz (Södertörn University):
  “Parliamentary Diplomacy, the Nordic Countries and the United Nations”
• Nina Koefoed (Aarhus University):
  “A critical analysis of the introduction of women’s voting rights in Denmark”
• Ann-Christina L. Knudsen (Aarhus University):
  “Constructing direct elections to the European Parliament, 1952-1979”

• Discussants:
  • Nils Arne Sørensen (University of Southern Denmark)
  • Claus Møller Jørgensen (Aarhus University)
• Chair:
  • Sara McQuaid (Aarhus University)