Raimondas Ibenskas

Raimondas Ibenskas is a Professor at the Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen. He leads the Norwegian Research Council-funded project INSTAPARTY: Party Instability in Parliaments (2021-2025), focusing on parliamentary party switching across eight European countries. His work examines how party instability affects electoral outcomes, policy dynamics, and democratic representation.

• Research Focus: Party instability, interest group-legislator ties, and responsiveness in multi-dimensional policy spaces.
• Methodology: Quantitative analysis of parliamentary switching cases, network analysis of EU lobbying, and content analysis of policy positions.
• Collaborations: Co-PI with Sona Golder (Pennsylvania State University) and Allan Sikk (University College London) in INSTAPARTY. Regular collaboration with Adriana Bunea, Nicole Bolleyer, and Paulina Salek-Lipcean.

His recent publications explore whether independents in parliaments seek temporary or permanent status, the electoral impact of party switching, and the role of interest group networks in EU policy-making. The Observatory of Parliamentary Party Switches (OPPS) provides ongoing data tracking parliamentary party instability globally.