In the pre-negotiation talks for coalition formation, CDU/CSU and SPD decided on far ranging plans to invest in infrastructure and military spending. This happens with the background of an announced reduction in international support by the United States. To make this spending increase possible, the German Constitution with its mandatory debt brake has to be…
After the 2025 Bundestag election, the right-populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the socialist “Die Linke” jointly will have 34 percent of the seats in the Bundestag. This gives them the opportunity to block certain activities that require a 2/3 majority: Changes to the constitution, the election of constitutional court judges. In an interview…
On the day of the Bundestag election 2025, Sven T. Siefken talked about the ongoing competition for the design of the ballot boxes in Germany. The interview was broadcast on Radio Bremen 2, you can listen to the full interview here:
What should a ballot box look like? How can it show the meaning of elections in democracy? The call for an international competition on the design of the ballot box is now open. You can find all details here: https://redesign-democracy.hfbk.net/en Democracy thrives on participation – the moment when citizens cast their vote in an election…
At the Helmut Schmidt University of the Armed Forces, Sven T. Siefken will present and discuss findings from the current research project „cartography of legislation“. The project aims to tracks the legislative process with a special focus on the pre-parliamentary bill drafting in the ministerial departments. It includes the informal phases of coordination and negotiation…
The civil society organization „Gestaltungszentrale Politik“ has produced an excellent brief video explaining in under three minutes how the German electoral system works. Sven T. Siefken served as an advisor.
The upcoming general elections will be the first application of the new electoral law of Germany that was reformed in 2023 and then changed by the Constitutional Court in 2024 in some details. In a new article, published in “German Politics & Society”, Sven T. Siefken analyzes the process of electoral reform and explains how…
Culminating in contested plenary debates in late January 2025, conflict has become stronger and more visible in the German Bundestag. In a new article published in PS: Political Science & Politics, Sven T. Siefken tracks how the heat has gone up over the past years in the German Parliament. You can find the full text…
On January 22, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung featured the ongoing design competition in the ReDeRe project on its front page. We are looking forward to many interesting contributions. The interdisciplinary project “Redesigning Democratic Representation”, jointly led by Professors Friedrich von Borries and Sven T. Siefken is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and aims to…
The new research project “Redesigning Democratic Representation”, led by Friedrich von Borries and Sven T. Siefken, is launching a design competition for the ballot box. At the occasion of the general election to the Bundestag, designers are challenged to take stock of the ballot box used in their home electoral district and develop a model…
Wie wird der Bundestag gewählt? Daniel Hellmann und Sven T. Siefken (vom Institut für Parlamentarismusforschung und der Hochschule des Bundes für öffentliche Verwaltung) stellen das Wahlrecht zum Deutschen Bundestag vor, so wie es nach der Reform im Jahr 2023 und der Entscheidung des Bundesverfassungsgerichtes vom 30.7.2024 gilt. Nach diesem neuen Wahlrecht findet die Bundestagswahl im…
In a new 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…
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
Philipp Cartier and Sven T. Siefken held a second workshop with practitioners in the Bundestag from the plenary services department. The goal was to check and complement the information that has been gathered so far about all steps in the complete legislative process, from idea to law.
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…
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….
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…
The Federal Elections to the German Bundestag will be held on September 28, 2025. It will be the first time that the reformed electoral law will be used. A new graph – now available in German – by Daniel Hellmann and Sven T. Siefken helps explain how the new electoral law works. More here: https://x.com/i_parl/status/1839987608748695696
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
Students, faculty and staff at Colorado College meet for a Presidential Debate Watch Party on Sep. 10. It is organized by Sven T. Siefken in a class on Comparative Politics and jointly sponsored by the Program of German Studies and the Department of Political Science. Join us to Watch the Presidential Debate at the German…
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 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…
In a deep-dive, Sven T. Siefken is teaching a class on politics in Europe as visiting professor at Colorado College. The goal of this comparative politics course is for students to get a deep understanding of how parliamentary democracies work and compare this to the presidential system of the US. In conversations with practitioners ans…
On July 30, the Constitutional Court of Germany made a decision on the contested reform of electoral law. Sven T. Siefken explains the new law and discusses the reform process in his analysis on the end of a never-ending story. This is the electoral law that will be applied in the upcoming 2025 Bundestag election….
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….
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…
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…
The Parliament of Austria organized the Day of Parliamentary Research that brought together academics with practitioners and journalists to discuss curret insights and perspectives on parliaments. Sven T. Siefken held a presentation on the early stages of bill drafting and led a panel on “democratic resilience”. More about the event can be found here. The…
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/
Deutschlandfunk, the German national public radio station, held its “agenda” show on life as a professional politician. MPs and researchers discussed the relationship between citizens and politicians, how it has changed and developed. The show is hosted by Michael Roehl, guests are MP Emily Vontz (SPD), MP Peter Ramsauer (CSU), author Robert Lorenz and Sven…
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,…
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…
How do you get things done in German politics? This is the topic of a practice-oriented class co-taught by Sven T. Siefken at the Hertie School in Berlin. It deals with work in political parties, candidate nomination, election campaigns and work in parliament and government. Graduate students in the Master of Public Policy, Master of…
A group of students of the Federal Police set out on a field trip to visit the coast guard unit at the Baltic Sea. Accompanied by Sven T. Siefken, they learned of the tasks and equipment of the coast guard. More on the unit can be found here
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…
The editorial board of the textbook series „Elemente der Politik“, published by Springer VS, met in Bielefeld to discuss future books. You can find more about the series here https://www.springer.com/series/12234 and the editors always look forward to receive suggestions of topics for new editions.
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 German Bundestag is welcoming the new group of participants in the International Parliamentary Stipend Program, 96 participants from 42 countries around the globe. Sven T. Siefken held the opening lecture and discussion on politics in the parliamentary democracy. More on the IPS here https://www.bundestag.de/ips
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
”Hallo Bundestag” is an initiative that organizes mini publics in MP districts around Germany. Sven T. Siefken has been supporting the project as a core member of the academic advisory council. More about “Hallo Bundestag” is available here
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…
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…
During the latest field trip, a group of students and Sven T. Siefken visited different departments of the Federal Police and other security agencies to discuss current threats and challenges. More about the German Federal Police here: https://www.bundespolizei.de As Or
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…
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