IParl-Projekt „ReParl” (Researching MPs' views on parliamentary representation)

Im Rahmen des ReParl-Forschungsprojekts untersucht das IParl, wie Abgeordnete Repräsentation verstehen und ausüben.

Fundamentals: Representation - understood in the sense of Ernst Fraenkel as the right and duty to make binding decisions for the community - is the core task of democratic parliaments. At the same time, it emphasises the central role that a parliament plays as a legitimising institutions in the political system. This timeless research topic is particularly important in view of the many national and global challenges that parliamentarians and society as a whole are currently facing.

Die Studie: Wie parlamentarische Repräsentation funktioniert und gelingt, untersucht das Institut für Parlamentarismusforschung im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts COMPARE (Comparative Parliamentary Representation Network). Es geht um die Perspektive von Abgeordneten aus verschiedenen Ländern auf ihre Rollen und Funktionen; wir wollen erheben, wie sie Repräsentation verstehen und ausüben.

In the medium term, around a dozen colleagues from Europe will analyse their respective parliaments with identical questions in order to obtain a solid basis for comparison (in addition to Germany, the pioneer group includes Spain, Poland, Portugal, Israel, Hungary and Norway). The IParl has started the pilot project in 2024. Our surveys will then be repeated for each new Bundestag that convenes, and each time a current aspect of parliamentarianism in the respective country will be included. The planned study is thus designed as a long-term project and is intended to enable both synchronous and diachronic international comparisons.

Our key research questions are:

• How do members of parliament from different countries perceive parliamentary representation?
• In what specific ways do they exercise representation?
• How do MPs take the interests and needs of the population into account?
• What relationships do parliamentarians have with associations, companies and interest groups?
• How do members of parliament communicate with citizens?

Implementation: In Germany, around 75 members of the 20th Bundestag will be interviewed using guided interviews (around 20 minutes, face-to-face or alternatively via video conference).

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the project managers at IParl Dr Danny Schindler, Alexander Kühne or Christian Ignorek.