What happened
Researchers created a 72-year dataset of formal rule violations in German parliament and found that when chairs issue calls to order, they do so inconsistently — influenced by who is speaking and what party they belong to, not just the rule broken. This means the same behavior gets punished differently depending on whether you're in government or opposition, and whether you're male or female.
Why it matters
For the first time, someone has measured and documented that formal parliamentary rules — which are written down and identical for everyone — are actually enforced selectively by the person in charge. Opposition members and male lawmakers get called out more often for the same violations. This makes visible a structural problem: rules only constrain power equally if they're enforced equally, and they're not.