77 MARTINDALE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE come Denmark, Michala Clante Bendixen, attributed this disparity in treatment of Ukrainian and Syrian refugees to a higher value placed by the Danish government on white lives (John, 2022). In general, more immigrants to Denmark are from non-Western (~58%) than Western (~42%) countries. Statistics Denmark defines non-Western as countries outside the EU except the USA, Canada, Andorra, Australia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, and Vatican City. This definition has been used in Danish policies to target and attack large groups of people who, save for their large non-white populations, bear few similarities to each other geographically and otherwise. Even the Ministry of the Interior and Housing maintains, “the distinction between Western and non-Western countries has nothing to do with a country’s political system, religion, economy, or culture” (Burnett, 2021). The politics of immigration history Immigration in Denmark did not become a central topic of political discussion until the 1980s. In 1983, the first Danish law regarding foreigners was passed with the intention of strengthening the legal position of refugees and immigrants. It was unanimously adopted by all but one of the parties in Parliament (Green-Pedersen & Krogstrup, 2008). The lone outlier, the Progress Party, was established with, and has always taken, a hard stance against immigration. In fact, its 2010 political program expressly included ending immigration to Denmark as one of its goals. However, the Progress Party has not always been a popular party. Since the landslide election of 1973 when they won 28 (15.9%) of the 179 seats in Parliament,1 the Progress Party has declined in popularity, winning zero seats in Parliament since 2001 (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2008). At first glance it may seem that the anti-immigration efforts of the Progress Party were inconsequential, but the ideas and policies that it represents have continued to have a footing in Danish politics. This is because in 1995, some members of the Progress Party broke away to establish a new party called the Danish People’s Party (DPP). The DPP, which maintained popularity until the 2022 general elections, combined that popularity with the anti-immigration position of its predecessor, hence increasing the political relevance of immigration overall. From 2001 to 2022, the DPP was the third most represented party in government, holding about 13% of Danish Parliament seats. The party’s goals are based on anti-immigration attitudes and include policies that are even more intense and specific than those of its predecessor, the Progress ParFigure 1 Foreign immigration to Denmark, 1992–2022 Source: Statistics Denmark, 2022. 1They were second only to the Social Democrats, who won 25.6% of the seats.
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