RC08 - Legislative Specialists

14Nov 2026

Let’s talk Parliaments! Comparing Germany and the UK (on Dec. 15)

11:09 - By RCLS

The authors of two new introductions on the national parliaments of Germany and the UK get together and take stock of functions, perceptions, challenges, and developments: Dr. Tom Caygill (Nottingham Trent University, UK) and Professor Sven T. Siefken (Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences, Germany), hosted by Professor Anne Marie Cammisa (Georgetown University, USA). Join us for discussion, questions, comments on December 15, 2026 at 15:00 (Paris) 9:00 AM (New York), register here

09Sep 2026

Call for Papers and Panels to the IPSA World Congress 2027

19:40 - By RCLS

The Research Committee of Legislative Specialists (RC08) of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) invites paper and panel proposals for the 29th IPSA World Congress, to be held in Rome, Italy, July 24-28, 2027.

We welcome proposals addressing a broad range of classic and emerging issues in legislative studies, including, but not limited to, parliamentary organization and leadership, political parties, committees, legislative behavior, legislative-executive relations, second chambers, gender and representation, parliamentary engagement, and public outreach.

The theme of the 2027 World Congress, “Uncertain Democracies: Rethinking Governance in a Changing Global System”, speaks directly to many of the challenges confronting contemporary parliaments and legislatures. As central institutions of democratic representation, lawmaking, and oversight, legislatures are navigating political polarization, institutional instability, executive expansion, technological change, armed conflict, natural disasters, and other global and domestic pressures.

Download the full call here: IPSA_RCLS_-_CfP_WC_2026-09-21.pdf

09Jul 2026

Call for Open Panels at the IPSA World Congress 2027 in Rome

22:34 - By RCLS

It is time to start thinking about the IPSA World Congress in Rome taking place 24 to 28 July 2027. Details can be found here: https://wc2027.ipsa.org/wc/home

The Call for Panels is now open. You can submit a suggestion for a closed panel (i.e. you provide the complete group of paper givers) or for an open panel (i.e. you propose a topic and then paper suggestions can be submitted for it later). The deadline for open panel proposals is August 26, 2026. Submit your panel suggestion here! Please make sure to submit your panel proposal in the track RC08 (Legislative Specialists).

07Jun 2026

New Book on Parliamentary Committees by Irina Khmelko

20:14 - By RCLS

In her new book, Irina Khmelko offers a comparative analysis of parliamentary committees in post-Soviet legislatures. It shows how committee power varies across democratic, hybrid, and authoritarian regimes, and in response to major shocks like war and digital transformation. The book is available here: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-7474-4

06May 2026

Parliaments in the Global South: Challenges and Transformations: Call for Papers

22:47 - By RCLS

RCLS is pleased to share this Call for Papers for an international workshop on legislative politics in the Global South, organized by Professor Khemvirgh Puente in collaboration with the Research Committee 08 (Legislative Specialists) of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), with the support of the Mexican Political Science Association (AMECIP), and hosted at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

08Jan 2026

RCLS online seminar: “How, Money, Media and Violence Prevent Change in Congress“

11:56 - By RCLS

The next online seminar organized by the RCLS will discuss the role of money, media and violence for change in legislatures. Dr. Maya Kornberg will present findings from her new book and Professor Anne Marie Cammisa will provide comments, the event is moderated by Professor Sven T. Siefken and participation is free. Join us for discussion, questions, comments on March 18, 2026 at 17:00 (Paris) 12:00 PM (New York). Please join us here

30Sep 2025

David Olson Award 2025 for "Debating threats to Authoritarian Rule"

21:08 - By RCLS

The Research Committee of Legislative Specialists (RC08), IPSA awarded the 2025 David Olson Award to the following paper presented at the World Congress 2025: Debating threats to authoritarian rule: Inclusion and Discrimination in the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia by Haakon Gjerløw, Anton Kronborg, and Øyvind Stiansen.

winners.JPG, Sep 2025 left to right: Haakon Gjerløw, Anton Kronborg, Øyvind Stiansen

The Jury noted that this paper stands out for its creative use of historical data and its relevance to broader questions of representation and institutional change. It brings fresh insight to how legislatures function in authoritarian contexts—an area that deserves more attention in the field. Drawing on a newly compiled dataset of colonial legislative debates, the authors explore how limited African representation affected discourse in a racially exclusive legislature under British colonial rule. Your findings—particularly those related to elite adaptation, institutional tension, and the strategic use of discrimination—are both theoretically rich and empirically original.

21Sep 2025

RCLS at the National Assembly of Korea

23:33 - By RCLS

RCLS organized an event at the Legislature of the Republic of Korea. After a workshop presentation by Professor Sven T. Siefken on "Modernizing Legislation", the group met with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Woo Won-shik, to discuss the recent and current developments in the country.

National Assembly Speaker (18).jpg, Sep 2025

Below are some photos of the event.

13Mar 2025

Emergency Power Abuse and the Korean Parliament

21:22 - By RCLS

Professor Jeong-In Yun (Korea University) gave a talk on 10 March 2025 on recent developments in South Korea. The discussion was moderated by Professor Sven T. Siefken, Vice Chair of RCLS. You can watch her talk below.

https://youtu.be/f8_aqtij-pg

20Feb 2025

RCLS in PS: the Journal of Political Science and Politics

21:26 - By RCLS

Pleas cover2.jpg, Sep 2025 e check out the latest issue of PS: the Journal of Political Science and Politics, Volume 58 – Issue 1 – January 2025.Our committee spearheaded another agenda-setting publication in the Politics Spotlight section: Dynamics of Legislative Executive Relations: Global Outline for 2019-2024. Our committee continues to be a well-recognized leader in Legislative Studies, and we are going strong as a community of Legislative Scholars and Practitioners.

27Sep 2024

Call for Proposals for the IPSA World Congress in Seoul 2025

21:32 - By RCLS

01Jul 2024

RCLS online seminar: “Making Sense of the Elections in France“

21:51 - By RCLS

RCLS organised an online seminar in late June 2024 about the then forthcoming French elections. It featured a presentation by Dr Calixte Bloquet (Institute for Parliamentary Research, Berlin (IParl)). You can watch a recording of the seminar on the RCLS YouTube channel here.

15Jan 2024

Call for Chapter Proposals: “Exploring Dynamics of Legislative-Executive Relations around the World”

23:04 - By RCLS

Exploring Dynamics of Legislative-Executive Relations around the World to be edited by Dr. Irina Khmelko and Dr. John Ishiyama

This is a call for chapter proposals for our new edited volume that will explore dynamics in legislative-executive relations in different countries around the world. This volume is intended to be a follow-up volume to the one we published on Legislative Decline[1]. In that volume, we presented cases where legislatures were losing powers to the more powerful and frequently populist executives in different countries of the world. Since that time, Dr. Ishiyama, who wrote the conclusion to that volume, has published an article arguing that this may not be a monotonic global trend[2] and that there is wide diversity in emerging legislative-executive relationships. Thus, a central theoretical question for this volume is: what explains this diversity? Why is executive power growing in some countries relative to legislative power, whereas in others, the balance remains unchanged, or, in fact, legislative power has grown? This is a critically important theoretical question, especially since previous literature suggests that this balance helps determine the future of democracy in the world.

12May 2023

A Tribute to Dave Olson

23:17 - By RCLS

Our beloved colleague, Dave Olson, has passed away. He cherished our RC08, IPSA very much. He was proud of the work of the committee, and, more importantly, he felt so fortunate to have worked with and known so many of our members! He especially loved our meetings in person, where we combined work and pleasure with our traditional RCLS dinners.

Our RCLS is strong and, according to what Dave told me during our last conversation, is the most active and productive that he could have imagined us ever being. He was certainly happy with where we are now and where we are going with our work.

We will continue the best traditions that started under Dave’s leadership and add more as we go forward to respond to the needs of new times. We will continue producing high-quality research. Further, we will continue our work on bringing academics and practitioners together. We will also continue creating opportunities for our established scholars to lead and raise new generations of scholars who will continue producing high-quality research.

I am deeply saddened by this news, but I know that Dave will always be a part of our group in our hearts, mind, and our work. See below, please, words from some of our colleagues who knew Dave very well and some pictures that our members shared.

Dr. Irina Khmelko (Chair, RC08, IPSA)

06Jan 2023

IPSA RC08 & RC13 Conference in St. Pete Beach, Florida

23:23 - By RCLS

IPSA RC08 & RC13 Conference Within Conference in collaboration with the Southern Political Science Association

RC08 (Legislative Specialists) and RC13 (Democratization in Comparative Perspective) have collaborated on organizing a conference to bring together academics and practitioners from around the world to discuss topics related to modern legislatures and the processes of democratization and de-democratization. Full details of the 12 panels and other events organised by RC08 and RC13 can be found below.

01Apr 2022

Call for Papers: Workshop on "Parliaments in Crises - Crises in Parliaments"

16:50 - By RCLS

In cooperation with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the Institute for Parliamentary Research, the IPSA Research Committee of Legislative Specialists is delighted to announce an international workshop on Parliaments in Crises, which is to be held between October 6 and 7, 2022, in Taipei (Taiwan).

27Mar 2022

Call for Papers: International Workshop on "Parliaments in Pandemics"

13:25 - By RCLS

We would like to strongly encourage you to submit your paper for the international workshop „Parliaments in Pandemics“ that will be held in hybrid form (in-person – Prague, Academic Conference Centre, and on zoom) between 26-27 May 2022.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, democracy worldwide continued to deteriorate. As established and new democracies faced unprecedented challenges to public health and the economy, their democratic quality declined. While established democracies could largely prevent pandemic erosion of democratic quality, democracies in transitions could not. Pandemic is an opportunity for executive aggrandizement –strengthening governments, weakening parliaments, and testing the judiciary.

08Sep 2021

Call for Papers: Fifteenth Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians

07:56 - By RCLS

We are delighted to announce that the Fifteenth Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians, will be held on Saturday 30 July and Sunday 31 July 2022 at Wroxton College, Near Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK.

The Workshop serves to bring together scholars and parliamentarians – from legislatures around the globe – to discuss research findings likely to be of practical interest to members of parliaments. The event is notable not only for panel presentations, but also for the opportunity for informal discourse between scholars and practitioners, enabling each to benefit from the knowledge of the other.

02Sep 2021

Book Launch: "Parliamentary Committees in the Policy Process"

08:34 - By RCLS

Routledge are publishing a collection "Parliamentary Committees in the Policy Process" edited by Sven T. Siefken and Hilmar Rommetvedt. The book sheds new light on the often shadowy but essential role of committees which exist in modern parliaments around the globe. It questions the conventional notion that the ‘real’ work of parliament happens in committees. Showing big variation between parliaments today, the volume serves as a guide for future research, too.

This book launch will be held as a virtual meeting on September 29 at 13:00 GMT. It features talks by the editors, Philip Norton, and some of the country specialists who contributed chapters. This will be followed by a Q&A session and general discussion.

The event is co-sponsored by IPSA's Research Committee of Legislative Specialists (RC08) and the UK PSA Parliaments specialist group.

All interested are cordially invited. Participation is free. Please register by September 22 for the event here.

Please find more details about the book here.

28Jun 2021

RC08/RCLS Panels at the IPSA World Congress 2021

12:24 - By RCLS

Dear scholars, colleagues and friends,

here is the schedule of all 11 panels organized by RC08/RCLS at the IPSA World Congress 2021. We hope that many scholars from around the world will join the panels and take an active part in the discussions.

We look forward to see you all online!

Exploring Dynamics of Legislative-Executive Relations around the World to be edited by Dr. Irina Khmelko and Dr. John Ishiyama

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