About

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Group on Comparative Politics at the University of Konstanz and a principle investigator for the project “Get the Word Out: The Formation and Political Impact of Judicial Opinion-Writing” at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES). My research interests include Comparative Political Behavior and Comparative Political Institutions with an emphasis on Judicial and Legislative Politics in a cross-European comparison. Among other outlets my work appeared in Legislative Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Law and Courts, and the Journal of Legal Studies. Moreover, I am a major contributor to The Constitutional Court Database and I currently serve as Chair on the Steering Committee of the ECPR Standing Group on Law & Courts. I hold a PhD from the Center for Doctoral Studies in Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Mannheim. For my dissertation project on the political power of highest courts (published with Palgrave) I received the Dissertation Award of the German Political Science Association (DVPW), the Lorenz-von-Stein Prize of the University of Mannheim, and the award by the Prof. Dr. Anna und Prof. Dr. Jörg Jiri Bojanovsky-Foundation. Working on my dissertation I have been a guest scholar at Emory University supported through a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). I was a research associate at the Chairs for Comparative Politics at Leibniz University Hannover and Georg-August-University of Göttingen as well as a postdoctoral researcher at the Collaborative Research Center of the University of Mannheim, prior to joining the University of Konstanz. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Law and a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Mannheim (Germany). Moreover, I spent my first year of graduate studies at The Johns Hopkins University. In addition, I was a student assistant at the Chair for Political Science and International Comparative Social Research in Mannheim. Beyond my academic activities I seek to use my training for social engagement as an involved member of Rotary International and supporting member of Action Reconciliation Service for Peace.

Research Interests

Comparative Politics, Constitutions, Democracy, Parliaments, Political Methodology, Courts, Methods, Quantitative, Judicialisation, Policy Change

Current/Upcoming Events

Standing Groups and Research Networks

• Law and Courts