What is the planning of Germany if NATO‘s mutual defense clause is invoked? This was the guiding question for a group of students during their project week excursion to Berlin. Accompanied by Sven T. Siefken, they met policy makers and practitioners at the Federal Chancellery, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defense, the…
The Korean Parliament and Emergency Power Abuse: How did Parliament hold up in the recent crisis? Could it push back against the President? What instruments were used, which ones were missing? What can we learn? Professor Jeong-In Yun, constitutional scholar at Korea University, have us an introductory analysis, and then there was plenty of time…
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 State Parliament and the State Government of Schleswig-Holstein brought together 400 citizens and experts to review the experience of the Covid crisis. A symposium, held a the State Parliament in Kiel, investigated the various societal sectors that were affected. Sven T. Siefken served as moderator of the discussion on „State and Law“. A recording…
In its latest issue, Choices, the Cologne magazine of culture, focuses on current developments of democracy. In an interview, Sven T. Siefken discusses current developments and challenges – and emphasizes the need for everyone to get in touch and be active. The interview is available in the printed magazine and online
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…
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 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…
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…
„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.
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…
In-depth analysis in the international collaboration on “Parliaments in the Pandemic” underway. Based on the expert panel survey (comprising 380 questions), researchers will now analyse how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected parliaments. Nine Working Groups have been installed for the analysis. More about the collaboration on Parliaments in the Pandemic: https://ipsa-rcls.org/pip
The Pandemic posed a double shock for parliaments around the globe; they had to adjust their ways of working to the requirements of infection protection, and they also needed to deal with the prerogative of executive action. In an interview with German newspaper „Das Parlament“, Sven T. Siefken discusses perspectives of parliamentarism in the Covid-19…
What impact did the pandemic and other crises have on the work of parliaments, both at the member state and the European level? First findings on the topic from various ongoing research projects were brought together in an outreach workshop in Wrocław, Poland, by Professor Aleksandra Maatsch, The Jean Monnet Chair at the Centre for…
Mit der Rolle der Parlamente in der Covid-19-Krise befasste sich ein internationales Panel an der Bar-Ilan University, das am 14.1.2021 von 15:00 bis 16:30 Uhr (MEZ) stattfand. Vorgestellt und diskutiert wurden Erkenntnisse und Forschungsvorhaben zu verschiedenen Ländern, unter anderem Italien, das Vereinigte Königreich und mehrere “illiberal democracies” im Vergleich. Sven T. Siefken sprach zur Rolle…
Anlässlich der Anpassung des Infektionsschutzgesetzes sprach Sven T. Siefken mit Radio SAW über die aktuellen Herausforderungen der Pandemie – und ihre Auswirkungen auf die verfassungsmäßigen Grundrechte. Auszüge aus dem Gespräch finden Sie hier
Im Gespräch mit der Abendakademie Mannheim diskutiert Sven T. Siefken welche Folgen die gegenwärtige Situation für das politische System hat. Dabei geht es um die Fragen, ob in Deutschland der Notstand herrscht, wie politische Entscheidungen gegenwärtig getroffen werden und welche Herausforderung dies für Opposition und Mehrheit mit sich bringt. Sie finden das Interview in der…