Iver Hornemann Møller

The exclusion and marginalisation of immigrants in the Danish welfare society

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss and theorise the links and possible dilemmas posed by the politics of redistribution and the politics of recognition taking the case of Denmark as the point of departure.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical observations in this paper consist of the political and discursive climate around legislation on ethnic minority matters, information from the Danish Statistical Bureau, the “Danish Level of Living Survey”, and the experiences from Danish urban districts which have a high concentration of immigrants.Findings – Since the 1990s, the political discourse has changed with the emergence of right‐wing, anti‐immigration populism seriously affecting immigrants’ and refugees’ legal rights and their possibilities for socio‐cultural and socio‐economic inclusion. On the one hand, these changes have been driven by a strong “work first” discourse which has led to a reduction of the duration and level of social benefits, and increased poverty. On the other hand,...

Unemployment or Basic Income? — Danish Debates

Apart from the never ending discussion on how to stimulate economic growth and employment, unemployment has been the reason for three other recurrent debates in Denmark over the past 20 or so years. The first takes up unemployment benefits and the motivation of the unemployed to find employment, the second addresses how to engage the unemployed if they cannot be employed in a ‘normal’ job and the third, most prevalent during the 1970s and 1990s, turns on the merits and disadvantages of whether or not a basic income system would be the most reasonable way of dealing with the unemployment issue. It is the purpose of this essay to review the discourses on these three central issues of unemployment and public provision.