Research
My research covers different aspects of Empirical Democracy Research. It relates to the fields of Comparative Politics, Political Behavior and Public Opinion Research and draws on theories and approaches from Political Psychology and Political Sociology. I am particularly interested in how individual and contextual factors interact in affecting political participation, political attitudes and attitudes towards democracy. Empirically, I apply quantitative methods and adopt a comparative perspective (subnational or cross-national comparison with a focus on Western democracies). Below, you find information on my research agenda as well as ongoing and completed externally funded research projects.
Research Agenda
1. Citizens and Democracy
I am interested in the way citizens participate in politics and society and how they evaluate the political system and their very own role in this system. Thus, I study civic engagement, aspects of social cohesion, attitudes towards democracy and norms of good citizenship. I analyze how contextual factors (e.g. institutions, social structure, opinion climate) and societal changes (e.g. digitalization, demographic change, polarization) affect civic engagement and attitudes towards democracy.
Current Working Papers:
- Measuring Citizenship Norms using Open-ended Questions (with Alexander Seitz)
- Measuring Citizenship Norms using Conjoint Experiments
- Attitudes towards Non-Citizen Voting (with Jessica Kuhlmann)
Completed Projects:
- 2020: Intergenerational Transmission of Citizenship Norms (U Heidelberg Excellence Strategy, PI)
- 2017 - 2018: Citizenship Norms Revisited - Concept and Conditions (SNSF Early Postdoc.Mobility Grant, PI)
2. Social Structure and Politics
Individuals are embedded in various social contexts. They belong to social groups and think and act politically within these structures. I am studying how their position within society (e.g. their spatial position as rural or urban dweller) relates to their political attitudes and behaviors.
Current Working Papers:
- The Rural-Urban Divide in Citizen Discontent (with Antonia Lang)
- Civic Engagement, Political Participation and the Educational Divide (with Franziska Brandt)
Completed Project:
- 2021 - 2023: The Rural-Urban Divide in Europe (RUDE) (NORFACE Grant, Team Member)
3. Consequences of Societal Change
In the face of far-reaching social changes, I am particularly interested in how these processes (e.g. digitalization, ecological transformation, ageing societies) affect individual action and social cohesion.
Current Working Papers:
- The Potential of Caring Communities (with Annette Haußmann and Stefanie Wiloth)
Completed Projects:
- 2021 - 2023: Experienced solidarity: values, motives and practices in caring communities and social volunteering (EXPSOLIDARITY) (U Heidelberg Excellence Strategy, Co-PI)
- 2020 - 2023: Blackbox Sustainability (U Heidelberg Excellence Strategy, Co-PI)