New article in Legislative Studies Quarterly

In a new article in Legislative Studies Quarterly, Ulrich Sieberer and Michael Herrmann (University of Konstanz) explain how legislators in the Frankfurt Assembly of 1848 were able to form fully operative party groups within a short period of time even though parties did not exist and were even forbidden outside of parliament.

Using quantitative and qualitative methods, the article shows that MPs joined forces with colleagues who held similar substantive policy goals. They identified like-minded colleages based on observed legislative behavior and various socio-economic, cultural, and political variables that served as informative cues for inferring preferences. In contrast to previous research, this study shows that MPs form parties even in the absence of electoral and career incentives and can do so in amazing speed.

Sieberer, Ulrich/Herrmann, Michael. 2019. Bonding in Pursuit of Policy Goals: How MPs Choose Political Parties in the Legislative State of Nature. Legislative Studies Quarterly 44(3): 455-486, doi: 10.1111/lsq.12231. Link