Cross-Sectoral Competencies of German Politicians

Research Project on the “Recruitment and Competencies of German Politicians“

In cooperation with the Students’ Forum of the Tönissteiner Kreis, the BMW Foundation supports a research project analyzing the competencies of top politicians and their intra-party recruitment. The goal is not only to provide a scientific assessment but to identify and highlight exemplary political careers of so-called “Quereinsteiger,” i.e. people who enter a political career from a non-political background.

What role do “Quereinsteiger“ play in the German Bundestag and what chance do they have to succeed in German political parties? How much international experience do German Bundestag members have? What economic and social sectors are top politicians recruited from?

These and similar questions are at the center of the study, which is conducted by students in the Tönissteiner Kreis together with Professor Stefanie Bailer (ETH Zurich/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) and Professor Peter Selb (University of Konstanz). The BMW Foundation assists the students during the various project stages and coordinates the publication of the research findings.

Based on existing data about the German Bundestag’s current and previous legislative periods, the students will analyze the politicians’ qualifications, backgrounds, and interdisciplinary competencies. The goal is to filter out those political careers that differ from a conventional party career. The project seeks not only to interrogate current recruitment patterns, but mostly to document and analyze positive examples.