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Joachim Lund

Associate Professor

Subjects
Business community History Culture Society Sociology Europe

Primary research areas

Business elites and the power of networks

I study social networks and political power in Danish business, roughly 1920-1950. I want to understand how business leaders challenged political decision making via formal and informal networks and how they influenced the way society responded to political and economic crises.

Economic collaboration with Nazi Germany

I study Denmark’s political and economic collaboration with Nazi Germany during World War II, focusing on the way it played out in industry and engineering. I am curious to find out about the role of industrial organisations, singular firms, and individuals, in shaping the policy of the Danish government towards the occupying power.

Cement and politics: a case study

As a case in point, I currently study Gunnar Larsen (1902-73), Danish industry’s leading figure 1935-1943, and a cabinet minister 1940-1945. I am interested in Gunnar Larsen’s public, heroic image and his rise to power through personal networks, as well as his prominent role in the economic and political collaboration, which led to his downfall.

To shape the way we think about ourselves and our society

Business leaders, their political power, and the resilience of democracy 

I study the business élite, business history, and the relations between business and politics. Applying aspects of social networks analysis, I am particularly interested in Danish industry and the business elite’s reactions to the authoritarian trends and economic crises of the interwar years, the occupation 1940-1945, and the increasing political significance of the engineer. 

I attempt to influence the perception of the first half of 20th century Danish history, sometimes challenging predominant images of a strong democracy and a consensual political culture. I want to dissolve the somewhat artificial boundary between business and politics research. I am inspired by historical sociology, and I tend to look for social structures behind individual agency. I also work to strengthen the transnational perspective in Danish historical research. 

I strive to be an academic whose work is always accessible by a larger public audience, not only the academic community. Publishing books, giving interviews and public lectures, participating in electronic and social media, and reviewing books in recognized newspapers are part of this. I am also the editor of Historisk Tidsskrift – the journal of the Danish Historical Association.