History in the Competition State

This article focuses on the subject History in the Danish compulsory school from the perspective of the Competition State. The Competition State is a conceptualization of the state in the age of globalization developed by the Danish economist Ove Kaj Pedersen. The leading idea is that states compete internationally on competences, knowledge and development where competitiveness is the political raison d’etre. All areas of politics are subordinated to the logic of the Competition State where especially education becomes an important strategic field. The normative basis of the Competition State is economic sustainability and personal employability, and the role of education is to qualify and motivate to work. The article shows how the values of the Competition State have influenced the latest revision of the curriculum, and discusses how history didactics is interwoven with this development.