In Denmark, as in many other countries, international agendas represented by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment studies, the European Bologna process and the school effectiveness movement are important factors for educational policy. However, in national contexts, international policies become interwoven with local agendas and power relations. In Denmark, neo-liberal educational policies are linked with the present reform processes in the Danish welfare system, new public management. At the moment a political majority in Denmark has decided--without much of a prior democratic debate--to tone down the democratic statements in the objects clause of the Danish Primary Education Act. This seems odd, since traditionally, democracy has been a pillar in the self-perception and self-projection of the Danish educational system. The question dealt with in this article is whether we are dealing with de-democratisation in the Danish educational system and the Danish society, or with the development of new interpretations of democracy and a new need for a democratic debate. (Contains 1 note.)