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MA students at the IPZ write an independent thesis (MA thesis) as part of the Master's program. Usually, students find a topic and question on their own and contact possible thesis supervisors directly with a proposal.
In addition to this standard procedure, supervisors of the IPZ can advertise topics twice a year (in May and November), which are related to selected research topics. Students who are interested in a particular topic can contact the thesis supervisor directly to discuss whether an MA thesis in that area would be possible.
November 2024
Knowing where political parties stand is of great importance in the study of party strategy, electoral competition, and representation. Until now, data on party positions have come primarily from party manifestos and from expert surveys. However, there is another data source that has gone under-utilized: political speeches. In this project, the goal is to assess how ideological and issue positions can best be gleaned from political speech acts using large language models. The goal is to perform a test run for the United Kingdom, where speeches are readily available in a digitized format.
Contact: Marco Steenbergen
Decoding Migration Debates: A Semi-Automated Analysis of Swiss Parliamentary Texts
Migration has become a central issue in Swiss politics since the mid-20th century, with a significant increase in migration-related parliamentary initiatives. These bills address diverse topics such as asylum law, deportation, border control, and integration policies, reflecting societal changes to address political challenges. Legislative activity often coincides with migration waves from countries such as Hungary, Kosovo, and Ukraine, while popular initiatives have fueled debates on immigration control and societal integration.
This master's thesis analyzes the evolution of migration-related issues in Swiss parliamentary debates over time, focusing on shifts in thematic priorities, the legislative role of migration, and the development of partisan dynamics.
Data: This thesis is part of the DemocraSci Project, which leverages a graph relational database capturing all parliamentary activities in the Swiss National Parliament from 1891 to the present.
Methodology: The thesis employs a semi-automated dictionary-based approach to content analysis to systematically analyze large-scale parliamentary text corpora.
This thesis is ideal for students with an interest in quantitative analysis and in understanding the historical evolution of Switzerland's legislative focus on migration issues.
Contact: Laurence Brandenberger
Signals of Influence: Unpacking Cosponsorship and Bill Passage in Switzerland
The focus of this thesis is on cosponsorship relations among Members of Parliament (MPs) and their relationship with the passage of bills over time.
Cosponsorship is often viewed as a strategic exchange (tit-for-tat) in legislative research, but it also serves as a signal of support or influence. Preliminary insights suggest that these signaling dynamics can correlate with the success of specific types of bills (particularly in the context of postulates), providing a compelling lens through which to understand legislative processes.
Data: This thesis is part of the DemocraSci Project, which leverages a graph relational database capturing all parliamentary activities in the Swiss National Parliament from 1891 to the present.
Methodology: The thesis analyzes the evolution of cosponsorship networks in the Swiss parliament and investigates how collaborative diversity influences bill passage.
This thesis is ideal for students with an interest in understanding political networks, quantitative analysis, and Swiss (historical) legislative behavior.
Contact: Laurence Brandenberger
Measuring Political Ideology and Social Influence through Cosponsorship Behavior
Political scientists have traditionally relied on roll-call voting data to infer the ideological positions (i.e., ideal points, political stances) of members of parliament (MPs). But what happens when roll-call voting data is unavailable? An alternative approach uses cosponsorship data—where MPs support bills by adding their signatures—to uncover patterns of ideological alignment and social influence.
The aim of this thesis is to analyze cosponsorship behavior among MPs as an indicator of their ideological positions, party loyalty, and social dynamics. Using Item Response Theory (IRT) models, the thesis seeks to develop robust proxies for political ideology, alliance formation strategies, and party cohesion.
Data: This thesis is part of the DemocraSci Project, which leverages a graph relational database capturing all parliamentary activities in the Swiss National Parliament from 1891 to the present.
Methodology: The thesis will apply IRT models to scale cosponsorship behavior, providing innovative insights into MP interactions in the Swiss political landscape.
This thesis is ideal for students with a strong interest in political methodology and a passion for exploring new techniques to measure latent concepts in political science.
Contact: Laurence Brandenberger
Weshalb nehmen junge Erwachsene an Abstimmungen teil oder nicht? Spielt die mediale Beachtung im Vorfeld eine Rolle für die Teilnahmeentscheide? Inwiefern spielen die Themen und die Themenkomplexität eine Rolle? Diesen und weiteren Fragen kann man mit vorhandenen, anonymisierten Individualdaten aus einem grossen Deutschschweizer Kanton nachgehen.
Contact: Lucas Leemann
For inspiration - no longer available.
Weshalb nehmen junge Erwachsene an Abstimmungen teil oder nicht? Spielt die mediale Beachtung im Vorfeld eine Rolle für die Teilnahmeentscheide? Inwiefern spielen die Themen und die Themenkomplexität eine Rolle? Diesen und weiteren Fragen kann man mit vorhandenen, anonymisierten Individualdaten aus einem grossen Deutschschweizer Kanton nachgehen.
Echo chambers are online communication environments in which individuals encounter only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own. Given their potential harm to democracy - such as political polarization and segregation -, it is essential that we investigate questions such as: How do echo chambers develop online? Are dissenting voices accidentally left out or actively discredited? Does exposure to dissenting voices reinforce or shatter echo chambers? These questions are important as they explain the causes, consequences and ways to deal with echo chambers, and can be investigated by identifying relevant case studies, collecting Twitter data, and employing Social Network Analysis (SNA).
Wie oft beteiligen sich die Töchter von konservativen Vätern an eidgenössischen Abstimmungen? In dieser MA Arbeit setzten Sie sich mit verschiedenen Fragestellungen auseinander, die allesamt untersuchen inwiefern die Haushaltskomposition einen Effekt auf die politische Partizipation hat. Diese MA Arbeit ist geeignet für Student*innen, die sich für Demokratische Partizipation, Schweizer Politik, Genderfragen und/oder quantitative Analysen interessieren.
Im Zuge der Diskussionen um das Stimmrechtsalter 16 stellt sich die Frage, ob ein früheres Stimmrecht positive Externalitäten hat. Es besteht die Möglichkeit aufgrund verschiedener Umfragen zu untersuchen, wie gross die Unterschiede zwischen 16-&17-jährigen gegenüber 18-jährigen Bürger*innen sind und ob sich die Einstellungen nach der ersten Stimmteilnahme ändern (oder nicht). Dieses Projekt ist geeignet für Student*innen, die sich für demokratische Partizipation, Schweizer Politik und/oder Umfrageforschung interessieren.
Sie möchten eine Masterarbeit zu einem Thema im Bereich der politischen Einstellungen bzw. öffentlichen Meinung in der Schweiz durchführen? Im Rahmen des Projektes Swiss Political Science Garage (SPS Garage) können Sie Ihre eigene Umfrage mit ca. 1000 Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen durchführen. Das Panel eignet sich insbesondere für
Das Umfragepanel erlaubt zwar keine vollständig repräsentative Umfrage, Gewichtung für soziodemographische Variablen ist jedoch möglich.
Many theories of how direct democracy affects political outcomes are based on the idea that decision makers will compromise to avoid a referendum campaign. Neidhardt (1970) is an early example and described the optional referendum hanging like a sword of Damocles over parliamentary decision making. If legislators do not compromise and exclude a large enough group, they can quickly find themselves in a referendum campaign and potentially lose. To avoid this, it may be better to make a small compromise and avoid the "gamble" of a direct democratic vote.
Some theories find (indirect) evidence for this mechanism (e.g., Leemann & Wasserfallen, 2016), others do not (Lascher et al. 1996). Since there are some exogenous changes in signature thresholds, one can estimate the causal effect of the referendum on MPs' probability of compromise.
Keywords: direct democracy, Switzerland, causal inference, optional referendum.
Telegram ist ein kostenloser Instant-Messaging-Dienst, welcher vermehrt für politische Kommunikation verwendet wird, zum Beispiel von Corona-Skeptikern in der Schweiz und im Ausland. Die Masterarbeit soll eine relevante inhaltliche Fragestellung erforschen, welche anhand von Telegram-Daten untersucht werden kann, insbesondere mittels Text- oder Netzwerkanalysen. Die dafür nötigen Telegram-Daten werden vom Digital Democracy Lab zur Verfügung gestellt.
What are the positions of political parties in Switzerland and Europe on the EU issue? How do different media outlets report on these positions? How have these positions evolved over time? And how do developments around Brexit influence both media coverage and party positions? These and other questions can be investigated with an extensive media dataset (news articles and metadata from a dozen European countries).
Why do some citizens support European integration while others oppose it? To what extent can political parties manufacture support and opposition for the EU? What’s the relationship between Euroscepticism and populism? In light of recent events, what lessons have Swiss citizens drawn from Brexit? Did the pandemic increase people’s support for international cooperation? And what’s the future of Swiss-EU relations after the end of the negotiations on the Institutional Framework Agreement? These and other questions can be investigated using available, anonymised individual data from a four-wave panel survey field ed in Switzerland between 2019 and 2021.
Wie prägen der subjektive soziale Status und die Wahrnehmung von dessen Verschiebung (Statusverlust, Statusbedrohung, Möglichkeiten von sozialer Mobilität) sozialpolitische Präferenzen? Welche Sozialpolitiken werden mit statussichernden oder umverteilenden Wirkungen in Verbindung gebracht? Diesen und ähnlichen Fragen kann man mit vorhandenen, anonymisierten Individualdaten aus Deutschland, UK, Schweden und Spanien.
Welche sozialpolitischen Instrumente sind für sozialdemokratische Wähler*innen besonders wichtig? Welche Verteilungswirkungen assoziieren sie mit diesen (Umverteilung? Eigennutzen?)? Gibt es Unterschiede in den sozialpolitischen Präferenzen innerhalb der sozialdemokratischen Wählerschaft? Diesen und ähnlichen Fragen kann man mit vorhandenen, anonymisierten Individualdaten aus verschiedenen Projekten in mehreren westeuropäischen Ländern nachgehen.
