20Oct 2022
About RCLS
05:38 - By Dr. Erik Fritzsche
The Research Committee of Legislative Specialists (RCLS) is a global community of academics and practitioners dedicated to the study of parliaments and legislatures. Our research contributes to world development with regard to promoting democratic values, and advancing a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. We collaborate to further the understanding of representative assemblies around the world to better understand their roles, functions, structures, and policy impact. We value and encourage interdisciplinary research and cooperation among scholars in different disciplines. Promoting the comparative investigation of institutions, processes, and politics, we look at national, cross-national, and sub-national aspects of parliaments. Ongoing dialogue with practitioners and engaging a broader public allow us to engage in research with societal relevance.
RCLS was formed in 1972.
RCLS Committee Officials
- Professor Dr. Irina Khmelko, Chair, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, USA
- Professor Dr. Sven T. Siefken, Vice Chair, Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences, Germany
- Professor Dr. Osnat Akirav, Head of Programmes, The Western Galilee College Acre, Israel
Board members
- Dr. Enrico Borghetto, University of Florence, Italy
- Dr. Anne Marie Cammisa, Georgetown University, USA
- Mr. Benjamin Ekeyi, Legislative Strengthening/PFM/Legislative policy/Development Expert, Nigeria
- Professor Erik Herron, Ph.D., West Virginia University, USA
- Professor John Ishiyama, Ph.D., University of North Texas, USA
- Dr. Khemvirg Puente Martínez, UNAM Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, México
- Professor Milind Thakar, University of Indianapolis, USA
Advisory members
- Professor Dr. Ken Coghill BVSc, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Swinburne University of Technology (Melbourne, Australia)
- Professor Dr. Zdenka Mansfeldova, Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Science (Prague, Czech Republic)
- Professor Dr. Werner J Patzelt, Professor emeritus of comparative government, Technical University (Dresden, Germany)
- Professor Dr. Hilmar Rommetvedt, Research Professor, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre (Stavanger, Norway)
- Professor Dr.Rick Stapenhurst, Assistant Professor and Director of Parliamentary Research and Training, McGill University (Montréal and Québec, Canada)
- Professor Dr. Omer Faruk Genckaya, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
- Professor Dr. Da-Chi Liao, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
RCLS has an extended mailing list with experts on parliaments, legislatures, and assemblies worldwide. If you wish to be added to the list, please join it here: https://legislativespecialists.wordpress.com/join/