Redesigning Democratic Representation

Redesigning Democratic Representation

In an upcoming interdisciplinary research project, professors Friedrich von Borries and Sven T. Siefken and their team will study approaches to redesigning democratic representation (ReDeRe). Following MPs through time and spaces, ReDeRe will experiment and try, based on design theory and practice as well as political science knowledge. The project is funded by the Volkswagen…

At a distance: Parliaments in the Pandemic
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At a distance: Parliaments in the Pandemic

In a recent interview at the “Portal für Politikwissenschaft”, Petra Guasti and Sven T. Siefken talked about the preliminary findings of the international collaboration on Parliaments in the Pandemic. The interview is available (in German) here: https://www.pw-portal.de/repraesentation-und-parlamentarismus/ueberblick/welche-rolle-spielten-parlamente-in-der-pandemie-interview-mit-petra-guasti-und-sven-t-siefken photo: Deutscher Bundestag / Simone M. Neumann

75 years of Parliamentary Party Groups
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75 years of Parliamentary Party Groups

The Institute for Parliamentary Research and the German Association for Parliamentary Affairs held a workshop on Parliamentary Party Groups. It brought together academic experts on the topic from political science and constitutional law with parliamentary practitioners to discuss the state of knowledge and future perspectives. Sven T. Siefken spoke on the role of PPGs in…

Knowledge on Knowledge in Parliaments
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Knowledge on Knowledge in Parliaments

Starting a new research project „Studying Parliaments and the Role of Knowledge“, Marc Geddes and his team brought together international experts working on the topic. Sven T. Siefken gave a presentation on how the entire legislative process – from idea to law – must be understood for analyzing the avenues of knowledge influence and creation….

Parliaments in the Pandemic Workshop No. 6
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Parliaments in the Pandemic Workshop No. 6

The international collaboration Parliaments in the Pandemic held its sixth academic workshop, this time in Kiel at the new offices of the Foundation Science and Democracy. Results of the project will be published in an edited volume soon. Workshop participants also met with practitioners of the state parliament of Schleswig-Holstein to discuss their experience in…

More Conflict in Parliament – why?

More Conflict in Parliament – why?

Determinants and Consequences Over the past years, visible conflicts in the German Bundestag have grown. This is dues to various political developments, policy decisions and strategic choices of poltical actors. Sven T. Siefken discusses these determinants and their consequences in the latest edition of the journal “INDES”, available here: https://indes-online.de/konflikte-im-hohen-haus

Happy Birthday, Bundestag

Happy Birthday, Bundestag

75 years ago, today, the first German Bundestag held opening meeting. Over the decades, the Bundestag has developed into one of the strongest parliaments in the world. On the occasion of the Bundestag Birthday, Sven T. Siefken spoke with Radio Bremen 2 about the developments in the past and the challenges ahead. A recording of…

Faculty Talk on “Hot or Cold Politics?”
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Faculty Talk on “Hot or Cold Politics?”

Faculty and staff are invited to attend Colorado College Visiting Professor of German & Political Science Sven Siefken’s Faculty Lunch talk on “Hot or Cold Politics? Political Decision Making in a Parliamentary Democracy”. How does an idea become a law? This fundamental question of political decision making will be analyzed for the parliamentary democracy of…

Elections in the United States – a Done Deal?
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Elections in the United States – a Done Deal?

On August 7, the new format of the “Wissenschaftsforum” at the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences held its first public panel discussion. Dr. Michael Kolkmann (University of Halle) and Dr. Philipp Adorf (University of Bonn) shared their insights from years of research on U.S. politics about the upcoming elections in the fall of 2024….

On the Formalization of Coalition Building
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On the Formalization of Coalition Building

An edited volume, published in 2024, brings together analyses made at the outset of the new traffic light coalition in Germany. Most of the contributions have previously been published in the Journal German Politics and Society. Sven T. Siefken wrote a chapter on the continuing formalization of coalition formation. Details about the new book can…

Making Sense of the Elections in France
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Making Sense of the Elections in France

In a surprise move, French President Emmanuel Macron has called new parliamentary elections. Join us for a discussion with expert Dr. Calixte Bloquet about reasons, dynamics and possible consequences. Hosted by IPSA’s Research Committee of Legislative Specialist (RC08), moderated by Sven T. Siefken, June 28 (9 AM New York, 3 PM Paris). Here is a…

Advisory Council on Administrative Sciences

Advisory Council on Administrative Sciences

The Advisory Council of the Department of Administrative Sciences at the Harz University of Applied Sciences brings together pracititioners from the state ministries and the municipal level with external academic experts. Sven T. Siefken has been appointed to the council and joined its meeting in Halberstadt. More information about the University is available here: https://www.hs-harz.de/en/

How Much Legislating in a Legislature?
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How Much Legislating in a Legislature?

The academic journal „The Theory and Practice of Legislation“ has published a new special issue titled „How much legislating in a legislature? Democratisation, de-democratisation and beyond“. It compiles various case studies on recent development of democracy, among them Poland, Indonesia, India and Bolivia. They shine a light on how parliaments suffer from processes of de-democratization,…

Practitioners’ Workshop on Legislative Cartography
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Practitioners’ Workshop on Legislative Cartography

Having conducted a thorough literature review, analyzed legal documents and interviewed numerous parliamentary practitioners, the interdisciplinary team held a first workshop on the „Cartography of the Legislative Process“. Held in Berlin, the workshop brought together practitioners from the German Bundestag and the Ministry of Justice with academics and designers. The goal of the project is…

Legislative Cartography in the Research Seminar
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Legislative Cartography in the Research Seminar

An ongoing cooperation of political scientists and designers is mapping the legislative process, from first ideas to the promulgation of laws. The special focus is on integrating both formal and informal components. Sven T. Siefken presented and discussed findings of this ongoing research project at the brown bag seminar of the University of Applied Administrative…

Parliaments and the Resilience of Democracies
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Parliaments and the Resilience of Democracies

The Federal Ministry of the Interior is organizing a training course on the resilience of democracy. It brings academics into exchange and discussion with staff of the German Federal administration. Sven T. Siefken discussed the topic of parliaments in crises. Building on definitions of crises and the role of parliaments in the political systems, Siefken…

The Bundestag – Insider Perspectives for Colorado students
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The Bundestag – Insider Perspectives for Colorado students

A group of students from Colorado College visited the Bundestag to discuss German politics with an MP and staffers working for MPs from different parties. Sven T. Siefken, guest professor at CC since 2019, organized the event, moderated the meetings and held an introductory lecture on parliamentary politics in Germany. More about Colorado College here…

Parliaments in the Pandemic Workshop in Prague
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Parliaments in the Pandemic Workshop in Prague

The international collaboration on Parliaments in the Pandemic (PiP) convened for its fifth academic workshop in Prague. It was the first in-person meeting since PiP was established in 2020 in the middle of the Covid pandemic. Based on a unique country expert panel study, PiP is a comprehensive study of what happened to parliaments around…

Cartography of the Legislative Process
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Cartography of the Legislative Process

Graphic descriptions of the legislative process usually focus on what is going on “in” parliament – while neglecting the preparliamentary phases of bill preparation. But there is a lot of coordination, negotiation and public engagement happening in this less formalized phase. Bringing together the special skills of designers (with an interest in politics) and political…

In the Depths of Coalition Negotiations
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In the Depths of Coalition Negotiations

Coalition negotiations play a key role in government formation, but they have not been analyzed much in detail. In Germany, the past decades have seen an ongoing differentiation of their organization, leading to a complex multi-level negotiation structure with a policy-oriented division of labor. Studying the working group on health policy in the coalition negotiations…

Roundtable on Public Engagement
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Roundtable on Public Engagement

Engaging the public in the work of parliament has been long practiced. To be in close exchange with the people is indeed a precondition for a successful parliament. In recent years, instruments and processes have been developed, tested and compared that institutionalize engagement. A special issues of the Journal of Legislative Studies looks at thoses…

Playing Parliament
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Playing Parliament

Simulation games are an innovative way for teaching the logic and dynamics of the political process. Sven T. Siefken and a group of students from different universities participated in the parliamentary simulation that is run by the German Bundestag, going through the parliamentary phases of how a bill becomes a law. More on the simulation…

Challenges to Parliamentary Governance
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Challenges to Parliamentary Governance

McGill University in Montreal, Canada, has run an exciting program for new MPs and staff from around the globe. Sven T. Siefken spoke on current political challenges to the German Bundestag, discussing the tension between MPs’ policy specialization versus societal outreach? The presentation gave an overview about how the Bundestag, one of the strongest parliaments…

Erosion of the State?
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Erosion of the State?

Are democratic institutions and bureaucracy losing their functionality? This were key topics of a conference held at the Akademie für politische Bildung in Tutzing. Sven T. Siefken gave a talk on informality in politics, analyzing coalition negotiations, expert advisory commissions and coalition management. More about the conference can be found here https://www.apb-tutzing.de/Tagungsprogramme/2023/39-4-23-programm.pdf

A Global Perspective on Committee Hearings
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A Global Perspective on Committee Hearings

Based on data compiled for the Global Parliamentary Report, Maya Kornberg and Sven T. Siefken study the role of committee hearings for public engagement by parliaments. They discuss how hearings have evolved and which mechanisms are in use and how new approaches change the practices, for example through digital hearings or field hearings. The article…

Meeting Bundestag interns from Arabic countries
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Meeting Bundestag interns from Arabic countries

The Bundestag has been been running the international scholarship program for young professionals from various parts of the world. Sven T. Siefken delivered an opening presentation on „politics in a parliamentary democracy“ and led the discussion for the 2023 class of participants from various Arabic countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Tunisia, Bahrain, Algeria, Iraqi. More…

Public Engagement as a Core Role for Parliaments
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Public Engagement as a Core Role for Parliaments

Parliaments fullfill a key function in political system of linking society and the political system. The new article by Cristina Leston-Bandeira and Sven T. Siefken explores changes and continuity in how parliaments fulfill engagement, which actors are doing it and what it entails. The article is available open access: Cristina Leston-Bandeira/ Sven T. Siefken (2023):…

IPSA in Buenos Aires
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IPSA in Buenos Aires

The Research Committee of Legislative Specialists is meeting during the 2023 World Congress in Buenos Aires. Organizing various panels it brings together perspectives on Parliamentary Oversight, Second Chambers, Parliamentary Party Groups, Parliaments in the Pandemic, Parliamentary Development. Sven T. Siefken is serving as convenor, panel chair, discussant and paper presenter. More on the panels by…

Parliamentary Committees in Paperback
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Parliamentary Committees in Paperback

The edited volume on Parliamentary Committees in the Policy Process, edited by Sven T. Siefken and Hilmar Rommetvedt, is now available in paperback. It brings together parliamentary experts from around the world to report on the state of knowledge about what is going on in committees and how relevant they really are. More here https://www.routledge.com/Parliamentary-Committees-in-the-Policy-Process/Siefken-Rommetvedt/p/book/9780367617950

Fourth Academic Workshop on Parliaments in the Pandemic
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Fourth Academic Workshop on Parliaments in the Pandemic

The international collaboration on Parliaments in the Pandemic (PiP) started to gather information on how the Covid-19 pandemic influenced parliaments around the globe. On March 13, it is holding its fourth Academic Workshop, continuing to analyze the data – this time with a special focus on oversight, legislation and parliamentary performance. Sven T. Siefken is…

Current Threats to Parliamentary Democracy
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Current Threats to Parliamentary Democracy

The Institute for Parliamentary Research (IParl), Berlin, and Sven T. Siefken brought together a large group of scholars for a workshop discussing current threats to parliamentary democracy. The meeting was held at the Reichstag building in an open format to debate the various developments in democracies around Europe and grapple with the question how to…