The Tribalisation of Denmark : A thematic study on the political narrative of Mette Frederiksen

Abstract: This thesis seeks to understand the narrative presented by Mette Frederiksen in an interview published in Jyllands-Posten on October 16, 2019 bearing the header The EU-cooperation is disconnected from the world, we are a part of through interpretations from relevant experts. In order to extract what can be learned about the Danish future relation to the EU, the thesis examines how four Members of the Danish Parliament and Marlene Wind, a professor from University of Copenhagen, interpreted the narrative of the Danish Prime Minister. The politicians represent the Social Democratic Party, Venstre – the Liberal Party, the Conservative People’s Party and The Alternative, thus the governmental party is represented as well as both sides of the political spectrum. They all hold the position as EU-spokesperson and enjoy a seat in the European Affairs Committee in the Parliament. The study seeks to answer how the five experts have interpreted Mette Frederiksen’s narrative and how they understand the future relation between Denmark and the EU from the narrative. The study builds on an epistemological perspective within qualitative methodology, as presented by Steiner Kvale and Alexander Bogner and Wolfgang Menz. The thematic analysis have been constructed by tribalist theory as it is presented by Marlene Wind; intergovernmentalist theory as outlaid by Stanley Hoffmann and Andrew Moravcisk and lastly the findings have been discussed on the foundation of Hannah Arendt’s thoughts on truths in the realm of politics. According to the interpretations expressed by the experts in combination with the chosen theory the thesis reveals, that there are certain signs, which points towards that the future Danish relation to the EU is characterised by an intergovernmental future with inhabited tribalistic tendencies.