Centre for Parliamentary Studies

The Centre for Parliamentary Studies is a research unit specialized in the study of democracy, parliamentarism and the Finnish parliament. The Centre was founded in 2002 within the Department of Contemporary History. During its ten years of operating, the Centre for Parliamentary Studies has carried through numerous research projects regarding the history of Finnish parliamentarism, the historical change of the political public sphere and electoral democracy. 


The Centre’s most significant research projects have been

  • the History of the Finnish Parliament (2002–2007),
  • the History of the Theatralization of Politics (2009–2012) funded by the Academy of Finland, and
  • the History of Finnish Post-War Political Campaigning (2014–2017) funded by Emil Aaltonen Foundation.

Ever since the 2004 European Parliament elections the elections have been one of the focal points of the Centre’s research as has been the publicity of the electoral campaigns. 

Teaching

Studying in the Centre for Parliamentary Studies

Research Projects

Mainstreaming populism in the 21st Century (MAPO)

MAPO is a research collaboration between media and communication studies, as well as political science and political theory researchers at the universities of Turku, Helsinki and Jyväskylä. The Academy of Finland project explores different forms of mainstreaming populism in Europe and the Americas in the 21st century.

The project will analyse how different mainstreaming forms of populism have transformed public debate, the media and democracy in various polities. The Centre for Parliamentary Studies will contribute to the consortium with studies on the mainstreaming of populist radical right signifiers in the public sphere, on anti-populism in the hybrid media system, and on the mainstreaming of populist logic in startup culture.

Consortium leader: Juha Herkman
Project PI: Markku Jokisipilä
Researchers: Niko Hatakka & Tuula Vaarakallio

>> Website of the project 

BIBU – Tackling Biases and Bubbles in Participation

BIBU – Tackling Biases and Bubbles in Participation – is a research project that explores how the global flux of economic restructuring, urbanisation, and migration, changes citizens’ political capacities, interests, and emotions, and how the political system responds to these changes. The interdisciplinary consortium is composed of researchers from the fields of politics, psychology, social policy, sociology, economics, and communications.

Consortium leader: Anu Kantola

Project PI: Markku Jokisipilä

Researchers: Kimmo Elo & Mona Mannevuo  
 

Publications