Rules of the Game – discussing democratic institutions

With Friedrich Pukelsheim I discuss double proportional representation. Since 2006 the Canton of Zurich in Switzerland uses double proportionality to elect its 180 members of parliament. Friedrich Pukelsheim was invited to design an electoral system that would deliver on the promise of overall proportional representation in the canton while keeping the existing electoral districts since they are meaningful social and geographic entities. The complication is that some of these districts are very small (4 seats) while others are large (up to 18 seats). So the problem to be solved was to achieve proportional representation and electoral equality while honoring those very diverse districts.

The resulting electoral system was double proportionality, nicknamed “Doppelter Pukelsheim” (“Double Pukelsheim”). Friedrich Pukelsheim has become well-known across Switzerland thanks to his successful design of an electoral system that fits the Zurich's requirements. He emphasizes, however, that the system was first discovered by Michel Balinski. As of now, 8 cantons in Switzerland have adopted a double proportional representation system. 

Friedrich Pukelsheim is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the University of Augsburg in Germany. He got his doctoral degree in 1977 from the University Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, and a Habilitation in 1982 from the same University. Still in the same year he became professor of mathematics and he has over time developed a special interest in the mathematical intricacies of electoral systems. Throughout his career he had research stays at the universities of Stanford, Cornell, Penn State, the London School of Economics and Political Science, among many others. Two books that treat the design of proportional electoral systems are Proportional Representation – Apportionment Methods and Their Applications, first published in 2014, and one in German: Sitzzuteilungsmethoden – Ein Kompaktkurs über Stimmenverrechnungsverfahren in Verhältniswahlsystemen, published in 2016. You can find all of his contributions on his website. You find links to all references in the show notes.

As a remark, this conversation was recorded in July 2024.

⁠⁠⁠⁠Find a full transcript and links to all material discussed in the show notes⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠

Schedule: 00:00 Introduction / 04:03 Personal questions / 6:08 Main discussion / 52:50 Recommendations by Friedrich Pukelsheim.

Find Friedrich Pukelsheim’s research here.

Please send feedback to⁠⁠ ⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/rulesofthegame⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Many thanks to Ana Margarida Santos who co-produced this episode.

Please enjoy this conversation with Friedrich Pukelsheim.

With Degan Ali I discuss the system of international aid based on her inside experience of working in the sector for over two decades. She speaks truth to power and that really takes some bravery to do, and I honor that. Degan Ali shares many compelling stories from her home country Somalia, but also from several years of growing up and studying in the US. She explains how local agricultural markets were destroyed by foreign interference and how the Somali government is at the whim of foreign donor countries, instead of being accountable to its own people.

Listening to her perspective is really important and powerful, even though I don’t agree with all her viewpoints. With her voice and her work she tries to find ways to liberate Somalia from the traditional aid paradigm. As it is pointless to wait for the international aid system to change or even to leave Somalia, what seems the most promising way forward is to empower local civil society organizations and to raise their political profile to increase their leverage on the political stage.

Degan Ali has been at the forefront of shifting power for decades. She is the Executive Director of Adeso, an organization that made cash transfers a significant, legitimate method of delivering aid to vulnerable populations, beginning with the first large-scale cash transfer program during the 2011 Somalia famine. She is also a Rockefeller Foundation Global Fellow for Social Innovation, a contributor to the Overseas Development Institute, the Humanitarian Policy Group and the Global Food Security Journal. Her work has been featured on The New York Times, Al Jazeera and The Guardian.

As a remark, this conversation was recorded in June 2023.

⁠⁠⁠Find a full transcript and links to all material discussed in the show notes⁠⁠⁠.⁠

Schedule: 00:00 Introduction / 04:57 Personal questions / 13:41 Main discussion / 42:46 Recommendations by Degan Ali.

Follow Degan Ali on X.

Please send feedback to⁠⁠ ⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at ⁠⁠⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/rulesofthegame⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Many thanks to Ana Margarida Santos who co-produced this episode.

Please enjoy this conversation with Degan Ali.

With Armin Schäfer I discuss Germany's mixed member proportional electoral system and its current reform. We compare the old and the prospective new electoral system, and we explore what the most important and the most controversial changes are. Armin Schäfer shares not only historical context of the character of Germany’s political system but also his opinions on the reform process.

Important to mention is that just a few days ago, at the end of July 2024, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that the electoral law passed by the German parliament in March 2023 is, in principle, in accordance with the Basic Law. However, the basic mandate clause, which was supposed to be abolished, must remain in place. This is especially important for smaller parties with strong regional representation that fail to cross the 5% electoral threshold that is also in place.

I recorded this discussion with Armin Schäfer before the ruling of the Constitutional Court. This means that while the arguments we make are absolutely relevant and valid, we were not able to anticipate the timing or outcome of the court ruling.

Armin Schäfer is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Mainz in Germany, with his research interests at the intersection of comparative political economy, democracy research and political theory. His recent research agenda focused on the interplay of social and political inequality, voter turnout, representation and responsiveness. Between 2018 and 2021 Armin Schäfer was head of the German Political Science Association (DVPW).

⁠⁠Find a full transcript and links to all material discussed in the show notes⁠⁠.⁠

Schedule: 00:00 Introduction / 03:37 Personal questions / 06:34 Main discussion / 31:57 The reform / 52:09 Recommendations by Armin Schäfer.

Follow Armin Schäfer on ⁠X⁠⁠.

Please send feedback to⁠⁠ ⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at ⁠⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/rulesofthegame⁠⁠⁠.

Many thanks to Ana Margarida Santos who co-produced this episode.

Please enjoy this conversation with Armin Schäfer.

In this episode of Rules in Perspective I review the podcast episode 42 on Democracy for Busy People, a discussion I had with Kevin Elliott.

My three takeaways from episode 42:

0:42 It’s important to include busy people in democracy.

3:55 Political parties and political competition are crucial. The better parliaments represent the people’s interests, the more democratic our political systems.

6:00 We should dare to fundamentally question our current institutions and think about unconventional propositions and ideas.

Listen to episode 42 and find the show notes here.

Kevin Elliott’s personal website.

It would be great to hear your opinion and feedback on this new format. If you want to send me an email, you can reach me at [email protected]. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rulesofthegame

Related episodes:

The Citizens' Chamber in the Canton of Vaud with Rodan Bury and Charly Pache | Ep. 31:

⁠⁠Listen and show notes⁠⁠⁠.

Fixing the House with Proportional Representation with Lee Drutman | Ep. 39

Listen and show notes.

Power-sharing institutions in multicultural societies – the case of Switzerland with Sean Müller | Ep. 6

Listen and show notes.

Youtube

With Kevin Elliott I discuss how democracy could be built for busy people based on his new book Democracy for Busy People, published in 2023 by the University of Chicago Press. I had a fascinating conversation with Kevin Elliott about his inspiration for writing the book, in which he takes the viewpoint of busy individuals who scarcely have the time to delve into lengthy parliamentary debates, participate in citizens' assemblies, or cast votes on numerous initiatives and referendums. Essentially, the question is how we can simplify democracy and reduce its demands, while simultaneously enhancing its democratic nature.

Kevin J. Elliott is a Lecturer in Ethics, Politics, and Economics at Yale University. His primary research areas lie in political theory, with a special focus on the ethics of democratic citizenship and the design of political institutions. His scholarly contributions have been featured in numerous prestigious publications such as the American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, Political Theory and many others. He earned his PhD from Columbia University in 2015, a Master's degree in Political Theory from the London School of Economics, and a BA from UCLA with the highest honors.

⁠Find a full transcript and links to all material discussed in the show notes⁠.⁠

Schedule: 00:00 Introduction / 04:30 Personal questions / 08:00 Main discussion / 46:24 Deliberative Institutions / 01:00:06 Recommendations by Kevin Elliott.

Follow Kevin Elliott on X/⁠Twitter⁠.

Please send feedback to⁠ ⁠[email protected]⁠⁠. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at ⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/rulesofthegame⁠⁠.

Many thanks to Ana Margarida Santos who co-produced this episode.

Please enjoy this conversation with Kevin Elliott.

In this episode of Rules in Perspective I review the podcast episode 41 on direct democracy in Latin America, a discussion I had with Yanina Welp.

My three takeaways from episode 41:

0:50 Direct democracy is a powerful democratic institution.

2:41 Authoritarian regimes may use "the will of the people" to consolidate power.

7:14 The devil is in the details.

⁠Find the show notes with full transcript here⁠.

⁠Listen to episode 41 and find the show notes here⁠.

⁠Yanina Welp's research website

Related episode:

Let the People Rule with John Matsusaka | Ep. 31:

Venezuela's Democratic Erosion with Maryhen Jiménez | Ep. 27:

Chile – From Street Protest to a New Constitution with Claudia Heiss | Ep. 8:

Basic Principles of Direct Democracy with Stefan Schlegel | Ep. 5:

It would be great to hear your opinion and feedback on this new format. If you want to send me an email, you can reach me at [email protected]. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rulesofthegame

With Yanina Welp I discuss different ways of how direct democratic institutions have been applied in Latin American countries – both in fundamentally democratizing processes but also power grabbing incidents. In particular, we talk about the cases of Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela, based on Yanina’s extensive research and deep knowledge.

Yanina also shares her insights on how direct democracy can be a check on the power of the executive and legislative branches of government. And I also want to know what she expects from the second attempt in Chile to write a brand new constitution, that the people will decide on in a referendum in December.

Yanina Welp is a Research Fellow at the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy  at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. Between 2008 and 2018 she was principal researcher at the Centre for Democracy Studies and co-director of the Zurich Latin American Centre, both at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. She got her PhD in Political and Social Sciences from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and a habilitation from the University of St. Gallen.

Two of her recent books are “The Will of the People: Populism and Citizens Participation in Latin America” and the “De Gruyter Handbook of Citizens Assemblies” that she co-edited with Min Reuchamps and Julien Vrydagh.

⁠Find a full transcript and links to all material discussed in the show notes.⁠

Schedule: 00:00 Introduction / 03:36 Personal questions / 07:10 Main discussion / 47:30 Recommendations by Yanina Welp.

Follow Yanina Welp on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Please send feedback to ⁠[email protected]⁠. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at ⁠buymeacoffee.com/rulesofthegame⁠.

Many thanks to Ana Margarida Santos who edited the episode.

Please enjoy this conversation with Yanina Welp.

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Music credits: To Be A Ball Of Light by Late Night Feeler and Fantasy Classical Themes by TheoTe.

In this episode of Rules in Perspective I review the podcast episode 40 on the Citizens' Chamber in the Canton of Vaud, a discussion I had with Rodan Bury and Charly Pache.

My three takeaways from episode 40:

0:45 Designing complementary institutions

4:55 Citizens’ Chamber & direct democracy

8:56 Improving existing institutions

Find the show notes with full transcript here.

Listen to episode 40 and find the show notes here.

Letter from Switzerland: Where the People have the Veto

Related episode:

Deliberative Democracy and Citizens' Assemblies with Ian O'Flynn | Ep. 22:

It would be great to hear your opinion and feedback on this new format. If you want to send me an email, you can reach me at

With Rodan Bury and Charly Pache I discuss their initiative to inaugurate a Citizens’ Chamber in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The idea of the citizens’ chamber is to complement the existing unicameral parliament with topic-specific citizens’ assemblies, for which members are selected by sortition. Rather than being a permanent chamber of the same citizens, the proposed citizens’ chamber consists of a number of citizens’ assemblies that would convene for several months to deliberate and legislate on specific political issues. The goal of the citizens’ chamber is to enable citizens to directly participate in legislative processes, to deal with controversial topics, to include the many different perspectives of citizens, while most day-to-day political negotiations would still be dealt with by the elected parliament. It would thus be a complement both to representative and direct democratic institutions. 

Rodan and Charly are part of a committee that tries to institutionalize the citizens’ chamber through a popular initiative to be approved at the ballot box by a popular vote, as it asks for a change of the cantonal constitution. The initiative was submitted to the government of the Canton of Vaud a few months ago. The state council that reviews initiatives rejected the proposal however, arguing that the proposition clashes with regulations in the federal constitution. The initiative committee appealed to the decision, and so currently Rodan and Charly are awaiting a decision on their appeal by the responsible court.

Rodan Bury works as an occupational therapist, and he is the coordinator of the initiative of the citizens’ chamber and is passionate about community and bottom-up democratic approaches. He is trained to facilitate and coordinate citizens’ assemblies, and a public speaker and advocate for democracy.

Charly Pache holds a degree in management information technology and a master's degree in innovation and entrepreneurship. He has worked on numerous prospective projects involving organizational elements of tomorrow's society. The way of working is one of them. He is also involved with participatory democracy and self-empowering, equal opportunities and diversity.

Find a full transcript and links to all material discussed in the show notes.

Schedule: 00:00 Introduction / 05:45 Personal questions / 09:15 Main discussion / 47:08 Recommendations by Rodan Bury and Charly Pache.

Find the detailled proposal of the Citizens' Chamber of Vaud at Blue Democracy.

Follow Rodan Bury's activities at the non-partisan movement AG!SSONS (Let's act!), on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Follow Charly Pache on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

Please send feedback to [email protected]. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com.

Many thanks to Ana Margarida Santos who edited the episode.

This is my first ever discussion on the Rules of the Game podcast with two guests. Please enjoy this conversation with Rodan Bury and Charly Pache.

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Music credits: To Be A Ball Of Light by Late Night Feeler and Fantasy Classical Themes by TheoTe.

Rules in Perspective is a new segment on the Rules of the Game channel. In this new segment I review and comment on my own podcast episodes.

In this episode of Rules in Perspective I review the podcast episode 39 on Fixing the House with Proportional Representation with Lee Drutman.

My 3 takeaways from episode 39:

⁠Find the show notes and full transcript here⁠.

Listen to episode 39 and find the show notes here.

Book: ⁠Breaking the Two-Party Doom-Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America ⁠ by Lee Drutman, 2020.

Related Episodes:

The Dream of a Truly American Democracy by Stephan Kyburz (Ep. 1)

Proportional Representation in America? with Jack Santucci (Ep. 12)

New Zealand's Electoral Reform with Jack Nagel (Ep. 30)

It would be great to hear your opinion and feedback on this new format. If you want to send me an email, you can reach me at [email protected]. If you find my discussions interesting and you’d like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rulesofthegame