The history of the co-operative movement (andelsbevægelsen) has often been told in terms of its national roots. But co-operative businesses take many different forms and are found in many different contexts. The UN named 2012 as International Year of Co-operatives in recognition of the apparent resilience of this type of business to the global financial crisis and their importance in helping people overcome economic challenges in many parts of the world.

Drawing on the results of a recently completed collaborative project on the global history of consumer co-operation (Hilson, Neunsinger and Patmore, eds., forthcoming Brill 2017) I will consider some reasons for why people form co-operatives and the transfers and entanglements which have shaped their development. Given the acknowledged importance of co-operation (in its double meaning of andelsbevægelse and samarbejde) in Denmark and the other Nordic countries, I will also offer some reflections on what this example can tell us about Danish and Nordic history in a wider transnational and global context.