Steffen Ganghof
@ganghof.bsky.social
1.2K followers 460 following 140 posts
Professor of Political Science | University of Potsdam
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ganghof.bsky.social
What constitutional forms of democracy exist in the world today and what's their rationale? New paper now published open access in @globcon.bsky.social
@cambup-polsci.cambridge.org
doi.org/10.1017/S204...
Short thread below 👇
Reposted by Steffen Ganghof
drphilphil.bsky.social
Bereits über 5.500 User:innen habe ihre Daten in meinem Populismus-Selbsttest für die Forschung gespendet - danke! 🙏

Zudem habe ich wertvolle Anregungen erhalten und einige Ergänzungen zum Einschätzung des Ergebnisses und zur Anzahl der zugestimmten Statement aufgenommen.

👉 politiktest.de
Politiktest.de
politiktest.de
ganghof.bsky.social
Der Text verbiegt sich sehr (& kann nicht außerhalb des parlamentarischen Systems denken). Der Satz ist auch beschreibend korrekt. Die Medianpartei ist ein demokratietheoretisch zentrales Konzept & die Union würde mit wechselnden Mehrheiten anders regieren. Muss man nicht mögen. Bleibt aber Fakt.
bertpsch.bsky.social
"Die Mehrheit in diesem Land ist rechts, aber bekommt trotzdem eine linke Politik" – dieser Satz ist also nicht analytisch gemeint, sondern strategisch. Er ist nicht da, um etwas zu beschreiben, sondern um etwas zu planen.

www.zeit.de/politik/2025...
CDU-Politiker: Der schwarz-blaue Sehnsuchtssatz
"Die Mehrheit ist rechts, aber bekommt trotzdem linke Politik" – diese Formel wiederholen CDU-Politiker gerade auffällig oft. Dahinter steckt eine gefährliche Strategie.
www.zeit.de
Reposted by Steffen Ganghof
cambup-polsci.cambridge.org
#OpenAccess from @globcon.bsky.social -

Taking democracy seriously: A theory and global typology of democratic forms of government - https://cup.org/4nMNEts

- @ganghof.bsky.social

#FirstView
Image shows a partial view of the journal 'Global Constitutionalism' with a focus on its text and colorful, abstract brush strokes on the cover. The hashtag #OpenAccess is featured prominently.
Reposted by Steffen Ganghof
steffenmau.bsky.social
Herausragender Wissenschaftler, bewunderter Autor, befreundeter Kollege, kluger Ratgeber: Claus Offe ist gestorben!
ganghof.bsky.social
Great experience publishing in @globcon.bsky.social
www.cambridge.org/core/journal... Fast, efficient & very helpful reviewer reports. Great interdisciplinary journal also for comparativists!
ganghof.bsky.social
What constitutional forms of democracy exist in the world today and what's their rationale? New paper now published open access in @globcon.bsky.social
@cambup-polsci.cambridge.org
doi.org/10.1017/S204...
Short thread below 👇
Reposted by Steffen Ganghof
rbellamy.bsky.social
The UCL Global Centre for Constitutional Democracy at UCL is delighted to announce an event to launch The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory at UCL on 13 October 2025, 6:05 pm–8:00 pm All welcome.

Details here:

www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/...

_
The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory: Launch Event
www.ucl.ac.uk
ganghof.bsky.social
Yes, I appreciate it! Social media is just not well-suited to have more complex discussions. (If you read my paper on Gaus, I think you are one of very few people 😅)
ganghof.bsky.social
The paper I linked above is from Willumsen and @simonotjes.bsky.social Maybe he has something to add on how well PR-parliamentarism works in the Netherlands.
ganghof.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... As you will see, I illustrate this system with the German case and argue that it would help to reduce or abolish the 5% threshold, thus making the system MORE proportional. The majoritarian part of the system merely selects, as it were, the agenda setter.
Combining proportional and majoritarian democracy: An institutional design proposal - Steffen Ganghof, 2016
The article proposes a new way to combine the “proportional” and “majoritarian” visions of democracy. The proposal blends elements of mixed electoral systems, p...
journals.sagepub.com
ganghof.bsky.social
The system I propose is not about diluting PR, but about how you want to build coalitions in a PR system: Do you want to have one fixed majority coalition of veto players for the entire term or flexible, issue-specific coalitions. If you don't want to read my book, perhaps this short paper helps:
ganghof.bsky.social
You make many assumptions I disagree with. I agreed that PR is great. You still need majority rule in parliament to make decisions. The combination of PR & parliamentary system creates veto players & leads to forms of MINORITY rule. On Dutch case, see: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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ganghof.bsky.social
The argument about simplicity comes from an influential literature & starts with the cognitive limitations of voters. See eg Carey/Hix on the electoral sweet spot. I argue for two chambers to get GREATER proportionality in the actual legislature. I'm a fan of PR, but against of wishful idealism.3/3
ganghof.bsky.social
really only works in very idealistic theory. They are based on equality (e.g., Tony McGanns work) and perhaps freedom/autonomy (Przeworski/Adam Lovett). But authors like Niko Kolodny make good arguments why equality does NOT imply PR. 2/
ganghof.bsky.social
I think you have to decide if you want to argue based on theory and decades of empirical literature (my approach) or only axomatically. Even if you prefer the latter, you might want to consider good arguments against PR. I think the best axiomatic arguments for PR are not based on consent, which 1/
Reposted by Steffen Ganghof
holt.bsky.social
Hoping this thread kicks off some new/renewed interest in @ganghof.bsky.social ‘s work.
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
can I interest anyone in direct democracy? so we both get out of this and so we don't end up back in it in another 8 years or whatever

hammerandhope.org/article/dire...
Reposted by Steffen Ganghof
hongmathias.bsky.social
Nochmals: Der US-Präsident hat am 2.9.2025 offenbar eine extralegale Hinrichtung von elf Menschen angeordnet und durchführen lassen, schlicht weil er sie des Drogenhandels bezichtigt.

Das sollte als eine (weitere) schreckliche Zäsur auf dem Weg der USA in die Autokratie wahrgenommen werden.

1/3
hongmathias.bsky.social
(Just pause for a moment to reflect on how horrifying this is.

Trump has apparently ordered that individual people be illegally killed.

So it took just a little over a year to let the "nightmare scenarios" (Sotomayor) of the dissenting opinions in Trump v US become a reality.) 6/
ganghof.bsky.social
I guess it's a matter of terminology if it's still MMP like when the two systems are used for two distinct chambers. In the paper I linked I make the connection to MMP and propose a system which is only quasi-bicameral. MMP is used and the no-confidence vote is limited to district representatives.
ganghof.bsky.social
Australia at the federal level and in most states uses such a system (STV rather than list PR).