Biography

I have pursued a Ph.D. in Politics and Management from the University of Konstanz, Germany. Before moving to Konstanz, I started working on my dissertation at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne. Previously, I earned a Diploma from the Humboldt University of Berlin. During my graduate studies I was a visiting student at Duke University and conducted independent research in Stockholm.
In my work, I investigate the effects of political institutions on representation. In the dissertation, I studied the party composition of the EU since 1958 by analysing the democratic chain of delegation from national elections to EU institutions. To better understand representation in the EU, I specified the mechanisms of delegation to the Council and the Commission. Parts of my work have been published in Comparative Political Studies and European Union Politics.
My general research and teaching interests are in comparative politics, European studies, political economy and political methodology. I am especially interested in questions of empirical democratic theory, studying the effects of institutions on the well being of citizens and satisfaction with political regimes.
In my work, I like to draw on empirical data that covers a wide set of countries and long time periods. Finally, I am investigating new information technologies that foster empirical studies of political institutions.
During my time as a Max Weber Fellow in 2009-2010, I will extend my work on political representation in the European Union, finish previous work on a new database of political institutions and start preparing a major post dissertation project.