The draft of the new constitution of Chile is now published. The constitutional convention met for the first time on 4 July 2021 and has now completed a draft constitution that the people of Chile will vote on in September 2022. It has been a process of inspiration and hope, but also of controversies, and especially of hard constitutional work. With Gabriel Negretto I discuss the main political institutions of the new constitution. He describes the ups and downs, and the milestones that were rea...
May 19, 2022•56 min•Ep. 23
What most people think of when they hear deliberative democracy probably are citizens’ assemblies. Deliberation is the process of thoughtfully discussing a specific topic, weighing different options, and using logic and reason to form opinions within a group, that then may lead to a decision or consensus. With Ian O’Flynn, I discuss various forms of deliberative democracy, from parliaments, to deliberative polls, to citizens’ juries, and the most well-known the citizens’ assemblies. Modern conce...
May 05, 2022•59 min•Ep. 22
Federalism is power-sharing among regions and the central government of a country. It is the vertical division of power. It’s a joint agreement of regions, of states, of communities, that leaves the subnational governments the choice and possibility to find their own appropriate, tailor-made governance solutions for its communities. Federalism can only work with strong democratic institutions. It is crucial that institutions represent and balance the people’s interests well, and that put executi...
Apr 22, 2022•30 min•Ep. 21
Women in Switzerland lacked direct political power until 1971. Up until then, women didn’t have the right to vote and the right to be elected – at least the national level –, despite efforts to introduce women’s suffrage that had started already a hundred years earlier. Yet, once full political rights were obtained, women used the available political instruments and power with strategy and determination. With Marlène Gerber, I discuss the evolution of women’s political power in Switzerland. She ...
Apr 08, 2022•37 min•Ep. 20
Kenya’s 2010 constitution introduced substantial changes to the vertical allocation of political power that has been exercised at two tiers of government since then: the central government and the 47 counties. Despite the devolution of many of Kenya's government functions, the country is organized as a unitary state, and hence county governments are not as independent as in a truly federal structure. Yet, devolution is giving the subnational governments significant political decision making powe...
Mar 31, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 19
The Swiss Federal Council is a 7-member council that constitutes the executive branch of government. Instead of concentrating power in one person only, as in a presidential system, power is shared among 7 people, the members of the council who are also ministers of the government departments. The 7 Federal Councillors are elected by the joint-session of the two chambers of parliament for a fixed term of four years. Decisions are taken by majority vote in the council, nonetheless the council trie...
Mar 23, 2022•46 min•Ep. 18
What are political institutions and how did they evolve over time? In this episode I tell the story of how small, local societies based on kin were integrated into monarchies, and then finally made the transition to democracy. First though, I comment on the devastating, barbaric attack by Putin on Ukraine. This is not only an insane assault on the Ukrainian people, but also on freedom, democracy and our rules based peace. In this episode I explain what formal and informal institutions are, and h...
Mar 01, 2022•39 min•Ep. 17
Presidentialism and parliamentarism are the two main forms of government used around the world. Yet, what are the characteristics and problems with these systems and may there exist other forms of government that combine the benefits of both systems – ensuring the separation of powers and avoiding executive personalism? One answer is semi-parliamentarism. With Steffen Ganghof I discuss his recent book “ Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism: Democratic Design and the Separation of Powers ” ...
Feb 10, 2022•57 min•Ep. 16
Taiwan’s democratic and economic development have been truly remarkable. In the process its direct democratic institutions have become a pivotal political tool for the citizen to guide major political decisions. With Yen-Tu Su I discuss the astounding development of Taiwan’s direct democracy since its early days, and its crucial revisions and improvements in its usability since 2003. The now ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) made putting direct democratic institutions into practice one m...
Jan 27, 2022•42 min•Ep. 15
In this episode I propose to change the Swiss constitution to implement a single transferable vote electoral system to elect the members of the Council of States (called Ständerat in German). The Council of States is the Senate of Switzerland, the upper of two co-equal chambers, representing the 26 Cantons (states) in the federal government structure. The electoral reform would mean to use ranked choice ballots in two-seat electoral districts. Currently the Cantons are responsible for conducting...
Jan 17, 2022•31 min•Ep. 14
Can there be too much democracy? What are anti-democrats and how do they undermine democracy? How can direct democratic instruments give people more decision making power? Are citizen assemblies a way to strengthen democracy? I discuss these and many more questions with Roslyn Fuller who has written extensively on defending democracy. Democracy needs to be defended not only against autocrats and authoritarian forces, but also against so-called anti-democrats that think the political and intellec...
Dec 17, 2021•43 min•Ep. 13
Reforms of US electoral systems both at the local and national level would fundamentally change US politics. The two parties, that are a consequence of the single-seat plurality voting, fully control all democratic institutions. Only by making the electoral systems more proportional could outsider parties compete fairly against the Republican and Democratic party. With Jack Santucci I discuss how electoral reform to introduce proportional representation (PR), for instance through open-list PR in...
Dec 06, 2021•47 min•Ep. 12
There are broadly speaking two forms of government: Parliamentarism and presidentialism. The main difference is that in a parliamentary system the government is subordinated to the parliament and accountable to that parliament. While a president in a presidential system is elected by the people for a fixed term and does not depend on parliament, but is accountable to the people. Examples of parliamentary systems are the United Kingdom, Germany, or South Africa. Examples for presidential systems ...
Nov 19, 2021•42 min•Ep. 11
Nigeria’s youth is creative, vibrant and energetic. Nigeria’s youth has tremendous potential and wants to thrive. My guest Greg Anyaegbudike shares how Nigerians strive and struggle to make their voices heard, and to keep governments at all levels accountable. With Greg I discuss how Nigeria’s grass-roots political movements and NGOs try to build pressure on political institutions and how the local government level could be key for a more inclusive development. Greg is convinced that there is gr...
Nov 03, 2021•40 min•Ep. 10
What makes a political system a democracy? Should we be surprised when people lose faith in a system called democracy that is not democratic? What makes a political system more balanced and robust to extremist views? In this episode I want to take a step back and present some of my thoughts about the state of democracy around the world. I try to answer these questions and share my personal opinion of what democratic institutions make a system more democratic. Based on a comparison of countries, ...
Oct 22, 2021•30 min•Ep. 9
Chile is in the process of drafting a brand new constitution. The current constitution is rooted in the dictatorship of Pinochet and does not serve modern Chile. My guest, Claudia Heiss, recounts the fear and tension during her childhood in the years of repression, and how that shaped her motivation to become a researcher of democracy. She shares with us how public pressure on the streets of Chile has built up over years, and how people were injured and even killed while protesting for basic rig...
May 28, 2021•48 min•Ep. 8
Nigeria has had varied journey of democratic accountability and federal governance since its transition to a civilian rule in 1999. Most political attention is centered around the presidency and the powerful state governors, while the country's oil wealth generating immense tax revenues make holding political office a lucrative venture. As the Nigerian constitution has been inspired by the US political institutions, comparable issues arise in the two democracies. The single-seat plurality electi...
May 12, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 7
How can political power be shared in a multicultural society? And what institutions can make multicultural societies more inclusive, balanced, and give people more control over political decisions and local public goods? Together with Sean Müller, I discuss power-sharing institutions as a crucial element of the success of Swiss democracy. The development of inclusive institutions was a long and troublesome process that started out with lots of social cleavages. Not only had two conflicting relig...
Mar 24, 2021•49 min•Ep. 6
Direct democracy is a powerful political institution. It is the people's veto power in government. Used in the right way, it is an important check on representative democracy and a way to break politicians and parties’ coalitions directed against the common interest of the voters, thus a way to hedge against excessive politics by elected representatives. Together with Stefan Schlegel, I discuss basic principles of direct democracy that make its use less controversial, less risky, more cohesive, ...
Mar 18, 2021•55 min•Ep. 5
Political institutions and power have been changing in Zimbabwe since Robert Mugabe took power as a liberator from colonial oppression in the year 1980. The image of the liberator Robert Mugabe speaking to the public in 1987 is also one of McDonald Lewanika's early childhood memories of politics. While the electoral institutions were more proportional and inclusive in the early 1980s, the dominant ruling party ZANU-PF changed the rules of the game over time to tighten its grip on power. McDonald...
Feb 24, 2021•46 min•Ep. 4
Cantonal assemblies ("Landsgemeinde" in German) in the town of Glarus have been held on the main public square every year since 1387. In this episode, I welcome my first guest, Pascal Vuichard, on the podcast, and discuss with him one of the oldest, if not the oldest democratic institution in the world. Pascal Vuichard has taken part in the assembly as a voter, a speaker, and a member of parliament, and he is thus best placed to share stories and achievements of the institution based on his firs...
Feb 17, 2021•45 min•Ep. 3
How can we divide and decentralize elite political power? How can we prevent power grabs and reduce the influence of lobbyists? In this episode I briefly discuss four institutions that are capable of diffusing political power and give citizens more control over the political process. I nickname and debate the following four institutions: First, the “constitutional” democratic institution, that is the electoral law, and specifically proportional representation. How do we select people to represen...
Feb 08, 2021•36 min•Ep. 2
Can the American democracy be as colorful, as diverse, as productive, and as creative as the American people? Democrats and Republicans dominate the political agenda and are the gatekeepers of democratic reform. Only a change of the electoral system to make the House of Representatives more representative of the American people can change the US political landscape and make it truly American: competitive, diverse, and inclusive. This would be the "Political American Dream". I compare the US and ...
Jan 20, 2021•35 min•Ep. 1
This introductory episode presents the brand new podcast: Rules of the Game – discussing democratic institutions . The episode briefly introduces the host, Stephan Kyburz, and provides an overview of the manifold questions that the podcast will pose, discuss and answer. It provides a first glimpse into the interesting journey ahead of debating how institutions determine the way political power is divided and shared among people in democratic societies. This ultimately leads to the question: how ...
Jan 12, 2021•6 min
