Theme table oligarchy

At the theme table "From world politics to KIT - Are we governed by oligarchs?", the participants, moderated by Sarah Herrmann (HoC) and Paul Wiesen (student), dealt with the questions of what specifically distinguishes democratic and oligarchic systems from each other and to what extent the organizational structure of KIT can be attributed to one or the other.

Procedure

After students and employees of KIT were made aware of the topic table with provocative and thought-provoking slogans such as "Stability through strength - leadership that knows what it is doing!", the interested parties gathered in a first round in the morning. After being given a few basic definitions, the characteristics of democratic and oligarchic forms of government were worked out together, explained theoretically and discussed using contemporary examples. A lively and constructive group dynamic developed very quickly, requiring only minimal intervention from the moderator.

Following this first phase of work, the characteristics developed were projected onto the governance structure of the KIT. The rights and tasks of the components of this structure, such as the Executive Board, Senate, Supervisory Board, etc., were first presented and critically discussed. Based on this input and the participants' existing knowledge of this structure, it was then determined which aspects of KIT's organizational structure are more democratic or oligarchic. As a result, several hypotheses with corresponding reform proposals for KIT's management bodies were developed in the spirit of democratic development. The main objectives of the measures formulated were to strengthen the representation and consideration of the interests of KIT's constituent groups and to increase the transparency of democratic decision-making processes. Of the measures developed at our table, two were evaluated in the plenary session as comprehensible and desirable enough to be brought to the KIT's governing bodies for further discussion and debate.

Conclusion

The participants at the oligarchy table proved to be highly motivated, which resulted in a lively and multifaceted discussion. In addition, after working out the differences between democratic and oligarchic systems, it was quickly possible to draw a non-trivial connection to the organizational structure of the KIT. The example of the oligarchy topic table shows that constructive teamwork in a framework such as that provided by the Digital Democracy Camp has the potential to develop well-founded hypotheses and reform proposals that are sufficiently robust to be forwarded to the relevant committees for further examination and consideration.

Contact

Sarah Herrmann M.A.: sarah herrmann∂kit edu

Paul Wiesen: paul wiesen∂student kit edu