Publications

The public perception of parliamentary processes is often characterised by empty rows of seats, supposed „factionalism“ or the image of aloof MPs. The article by Christian Ignorek and Alexander Kühne shows how popular prejudices can lead to a distorted assessment of the functional logic of representative democracy and resolves these on the basis of political science principles. This blog post is part of a cooperation with the Brandenburg State Centre for Political Education.

Coalition governments are the norm at both federal and state level. Oliver Kannenberg talks to Sabine Schmidt-Peter about fundamental and more in-depth aspects of coalitions in politics in the podcast by the Brandenburg State Centre for Political Education.

How have the political groups in the German Bundestag professionalised their organisational structure since 1949?
Danny Schindler and Theresa Pescht look at structures of vertical and horizontal division of labour as well as the scope and level of detail of internal rules. They also show that the parliamentary groups are professional democratic collective actors.

In the podcast by the Brandenburg State Centre for Political Education, Daniel Hellmann talks to Sabine Schmidt-Peter about what parties are, what their function is and what makes up the party system in Germany.

The participation of the member base in important internal party decisions has been a growing trend in Germany for several years. However, member surveys in the aftermath of coalition negotiations in particular have repeatedly attracted criticism. In their article, Danny Schindler and Oliver Kannenberg analyse the empirical trend, the underlying logic of action and the implications for coalition governments.

How hierarchical or participation-friendly is the decision-making process in parliamentary groups? Danny Schindler and Oliver Kannenberg have investigated this question in an international comparative study on parliamentary group rules of procedure.