Venue: Jeppe Vontilius Auditorium
Chair: Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, Aarhus University
| 10.05-10.20 | Mette Frisk Jensen, University of Aarhus, Denmark: The loyal civil servant. The Danish history of anti-corruption and state building 1660 – 1866 |
| 10.20-10.35 | Ola Teige, University of Oslo, Norway: “A question of trust. Surety bonds for royal officials in Danish-Norwegian and Norwegian corruption legislation 1720-1869” |
| 10.35-10.50 | Jørgen Mührmann-Lund, University of Aarhus, Denmark: ”To win the favor of the citizens”. The importance of trust in the making of the Danish police 1682-1814" |
| 10.50-11.05 | Discussion |
| 11.05-11.20 | Andreas Bågenholm, University of Gothenburg, Sweden: Towards Weberianism. The Liberal Opposition’s Role in the Transformation of the Swedish Bureaucracy 1828-1865 |
| 11.20-11.35 | Niels Grüne, University of Innsbruck, Austria: |
| 11.35-12.05 | Discussion |
The history of corruption and creation of social trust in Northern Europe
- The possible historical linkage between fighting corruption and generating social trust
Northern Europe and especially the Scandinavian countries are today known to be among the least corrupt in the world as well as the countries with the highest levels of social trust. At present a great deal of evidence shows how low corruption and high social trust correlate well with each other. The question is which historical process lies behind this development. What has been done in Sweden, Norway and Denmark the past centuries to both fight corruption and generate social trust?
The panel explores how the question of and need for public trust in the administration has been perceived and dealt with in both the 18th and 19th century. This includes how the state administration gradually set up strict official demands for civil servants in an attempt to create an administration loyal to the monarch or state, make sure the bureaucrats were trustworthy, prevent corruption and hereby making a more and more Weberian public administration. The session will close with a broader reflection on recent trends in the historical research on corruption and social capital in the 17th to 19th century in Northern Europe.
