Projects

Renewal of Political Parties (2023-2024)

In many democracies of the Western Hemisphere, the internal party selection of party leaders has experienced democratic boosts in recent years. In contrast, the political parties of the Federal Republic of Germany are known for their stable recruitment conditions, which resemble "coronation ceremonies." Recently, however, changes can primarily be observed in the CDU and SPD, which are described in this study as a process of catch-up democratization with an experimental focus. Empirically, the study centers on the input dimension of intra-party democracy. First, the traditional recruitment model is examined using longitudinal data from 1990 to the mid-2010s. This model is then compared with the current transformations that have occurred since. These changes include elements of decentralization, broader involvement of the party membership base, increased initiatives in candidacy, and a rise in visible competition between candidates. However, this multi-layered transformation is not a one-way street. Rather, a partial return to traditional selection patterns has also been observed. Looking ahead, the study explores the effects that more intra-party democracy has on the parties and their actions.

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VOTO - Election Assistance Application (2024)

For the 2024 city council elections in Chemnitz, the political science departments at the TU Chemnitz, "European Government Systems in Comparison" and "Political Systems," developed the election assistance tool "Voto." All ten parties running for election provided their positions on the platform. In total, this tool was used nearly 20,000 times by the people of Chemnitz. This project is part of a collaborative research project at TU Darmstadt, led by Prof. Dr. Christian Stecker.

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