ZParl Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen

Around 1970, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in numerous countries in the western world. However, previous studies dedicated to the voting age were limited to a national framework of analysis and neglected international developments. Using...

Donald Trump not only won a convincing victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, but also managed to attract a large number of voters outside the Republican core electorate. The article discusses this development with a special focus on...

Lawmaking requires specific skills that must be learned and taught – no one is born a policy maker and legal drafter. The state acts in central areas through lawmaking, and every technical flaw causes enormous socio-economic costs. In order to...

This article examines the effects of the new electoral law for the 2025 federal election, in particular the problem of “uncovered constituencies”. The new second-vote coverage procedure means that direct candidates only receive a mandate if...

The combined local elections in Thuringia on May 26 and June 9, 2024 were seen as a precursor to the state elections on September 1, 2024. After the AfD won its first county executive (Landrat) post and emerged as the strongest party in the state...

The final phase of the election campaign was dominated by the struggle between the SPD and the AfD to become the largest party. The polarization and mobilization resulted in the historically highest turnout of 72,9 percent. The SPD won the election...

The eighth state election in the Saxon Free State – 35 years after the peaceful revolution – was particularly eagerly awaited because of the following question: Will the AfD, which clearly became the strongest party in the state in both the 2021...

The Thuringian state parliament election on September 1, 2024 was a vote on the red-red-green minority government of the last election period. The voters' verdict was very clear, the governing parties suffered a dramatic defeat; the Greens even...

Why does the business community in Germany now see excessive bureaucracy as the biggest competitive disadvantage, even more so than the shortage of skilled workers and energy costs? Why are complaints from the public about incomprehensible and...

Local politicians act as key players in municipal self-governance, navigating the tension between rising expectations and limited room for maneuver while maintaining direct contact with citizens. Based on 38 interviews, this study examines how...

The recruitment of politicians is a central task of political parties in democracies. In order to understand who enters politics and how the political mandate is obtained, we must first ask under which criteria the parties nominate their potential...

On July 4, 2024, the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament adopted a law amending the municipal election act. By this law, the apportionment method of Sainte-Laguë (Webster's method) applied so far in North Rhine-Westphalia is replaced by a...

The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the historically momentous presidential election of 1925, in which Paul von Hindenburg was elected Reich President. With 48.3 percent, Hindenburg only narrowly beat the candidate of the Centre Party, SPD...

Despite legal equality, women remain a minority on all levels of political offices, mainly due to unequal access to political power. This article therefore examines structural disadvantages that women experience in the context of internal party...

Since joining the EU on January 1, 1995, Austria has been represented in the European Parliament by directly elected members . After 30 years of EU membership, this article analyses the social profiles of all Austrian MEPs to date . Age, education,...

The planned European Political Community (EPC) was intended to serve as a political backup for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and for the European Defence Community (EDC) agreed between the six ECSC countries . The so-called Ad Hoc...

The 2024 European elections in Germany took place against the backdrop of a fundamentally pro-European mood . For most Germans, the EU guarantees protection and safe coexistence in Europe in times of crisis . Peacekeeping and social security were...

With a special focus on the Dutch Politieke Partij Radikalen (PPR) and its sister party Die Grünen in the period 1968 to 1984, this historical study of the early years of the alliance of green parties in Europe provides a new perspective on the...

‘At the end of this day, I cannot pretend that nothing has happened’, said French President Emmanuel Macron after the far-right Rassemblement National emerged as the clear winner of the European Parliament elections on June 9, 2024 . He...

This article examines the constitutionally grounded balance between the principle of transparency and the requirements of confidentiality in parliamentary committees of inquiry . These temporary suborganizations are central instruments of...