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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The German association for parliamentary affairs (DVParl) held an inspiring meeting and academic discussion in the Bundestag on the changes and challenges for parliamentary communication in times of digital media. More can be found here https://dvparl.de
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…
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…
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):…
The initiative “Es geht Los” held a public event at the Humboldt University to present the findings and results of the first six mini public that were organized across Germany in the MP districts. Sven T. Siefken serves on the advisory board of this initiative. More information about the event here and more about the…
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
Speaking truth to power? Or just symbolizing it? Sharing thoughts on the changing role of expertise in policy making – and how it relates to Parliament, Sven T. Siefken spoke at the International Commission of Jurists, held in the Bundestag. More here
The American-German Institute (formerly AICGS) hosted a webinar on the ongoing reform of the electoral law in Germany. Boris Herrmann (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and Sven Siefken discussed the details, background and perspectives with Eric Langenbacher (AGI). More here …
The initiative “Hallo Bundestag” is running mini publics in MP districts – an innovative approach to combine elements of deliberative and representative democracy. Sven T. Siefken is supporting and advising the initiative that is financed by the Robert Bosch foundation, the ZEIT foundation, the Open Society Foundations and the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. More about…
In March 2023, the Institute for Parliamentary Research held the first IParl Academy for graduate students. As part of the program, Sven T. Siefken discussed with participants what roles parliaments had in crises and how crises are dealt with in parliaments. You can find more about the IParl Academy here https://www.iparl.de/de/forschung/iparl-akademie.html
„Parliaments in Crises – Crises in Parliaments“ was the title of an international workshop held in Taipei, Taiwan in February 2023. Sven T. Siefken jointly organized the academic program and presented a paper on how parliaments and crises are related.
In its 2023 workshop, the leadership of the parliamentary administration of the Houses of the Oireachtas discussed with Sven T. Siefken what can be learned from the pandemic situation for their own work in future crises – and in „normal“ situations, too
The Research Committees 08 (Legislative Specialists) and 13 (Democratization in Comparative Perspective) of the International Political Science Association jointly set up a conference within the Southern Political Science Association‘s Annual Conference, held January 11 to 14, 2023 at St Pete Beach in Florida. Conference organizers Irina Khmelko (University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, USA), Adam Szymański (University…
The European Parliament has been active in supporting and strengthening parliaments around the globe. Looking back at 10 years of activities, the EP Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group organized a high-level-conference in Brussels to discuss experiences and the way forward, November 29 to 30, 2022. Sven T. Siefken participated as an academic commentator. More…
Visiting the Assemblée nationale on the occasion of the price awarded to colleague Claire Bloquet for their dissertation “On the outskirts of the French Parliament: The Delegation for Women’s Rights”. A grand ceremony, talks with policy makers and parliamentary administrators and the opportunity to watch question time in parliament. More about the prize here.
Sven T. Siefken presented the international research collaboration “Parliaments in the Pandemic” during the workshop “Parliaments, Crisis and Foresight” of the Inter Pares Steering Committee. It was held in Dublin, Ireland. Inter Pares is a project of the European Commission that is implemented by International IDEA. It brings together parliaments from the EU members states and…
Work in the office of a member of parliament is very dynamic and has particular challenges. Teams are small, hierachies flat, changes frequent – and the work is very fast-paced. At the same time, there are important connections to the district office. In a workshop with the entire team of an MP from both offices…
Im Rahmen des World Congress der International Political Science Associtation wurde im Juli 2021 eine neue Leitung des Research Committee of Legislative Specialists (RCLS) bestimmt. Sven T. Siefken wurde zum Vice Chair gewählt. Das traditionsreiche RCLS begeht im Jahr 2022 sein 50. Jubiläum. Weitere Details finden Sie unter https://ipsa-rcls.org/
Das Parlament der Ukraine, die Verkhovna Rada, organisierte mit Unterstützung des USAID eine Konferenz “Parliamentary Oversight in the XXI Century”. Sven T. Siefken sprach dort zur Frage, wie parlamentarische Kontrolle gemessen und verglichen werden kann – und was dabei zu beachten ist. Weitere Informationen finden Sie hier .
Im dritten Global Parliamentary Report untersuchen die Inter-Parlamentarische Union (IPU) gemeinsam mit dem United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), wie Parlamente ihre “Outreach”-Tätigkeiten wahrnehmen. Zur Begleitung der Studie, die im Oktober 2021 vorgelegt werden soll, wurde im Januar 2021 ein Advisory Board eingerichtet. Cristina Leston-Bandeira (Leeds) und Sven T. Siefken (MLU) vertreten dort die Parlamentsforschung.
Über Grundzüge von Wahlsystemen, das personalisierte Verhältniswahlrecht Deutschlands und das Wahlverhalten diskutierte Sven T. Siefken mit Teilnehmenden des Internationalen Parlaments-Stipendiums (IPS) des Deutschen Bundestages. Dabei ging es auch um die aktuellen Ansätze und Perspektiven der Wahlrechtsreform. Mehr Informationen zum IPS finden Sie hier
Vom Ausschuss für Verfassung und Recht, Demokratie, Europa und Gleichstellung war Sven T. Siefken als Sachverständiger zu einer Anhörung eingeladen. Diskutiert wurde über Möglichkeiten für eine Verbesserung des Informationsaustausches zwischen Staatsregierung und Landtag im Rahmen von Gesetzgebung und Staatsverträgen sowie bei der Europäischen Subsidiaritätsprüfung.
Für Abgeordnete der Armenischen Nationalversammlung hat Sven T. Siefken einen Workshop zur Parlamentarischen Kontrolle der Exekutive durchgeführt. Analysiert wurde die Kontrollpraxis in Deutschland, um Erfahrungen für die weitere Parlamentsentwicklung nutzbar zu machen. Schwerpunkt dieser von der Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit organisierten Studienreise war die Finanzkontrolle.