"How do parliamentary systems of government actually work? Do we have an acceptable theory of parliamentarism as a yardstick for judging the practice of parliament and government?"
These questions shaped the academic work of Professor Dr Eberhard Schütt-Wetschky, the founder of the Science and Democracy Foundation. As a direct continuation of this research interest, in spring 2016 the foundation established the Institute for Parliamentarism Research (IParl) in Berlin.

With the aim of anchoring and further developing the democratic order in society, the IParl is dedicated to researching democratic representation and legitimisation in its foundations and details. Particular emphasis is placed on realistic empirical research that contributes to communicating the complex form of government of parliamentary democracy and has an impact in practice through dialogue with political actors and institutions.

The IParl started its work with a project to nominate candidates for the German Bundestag. The monograph with the extensive research findings has been published by Nomos:

The line-up of candidates for the German Bundestag
Empirical findings on the quality of personnel in parliamentary democracy

Find out more about the institute and its work on the IParl website, in the IParl flyer or register directly for the IParl Newsletter and stay up to date on all IParl activities.