December 2025 - Cluster_ecr - mailman.uni-konstanz.de

Annual Christmas minigolf get-together in Y312 today
by Iris Hespeler 12 Dec '25

12 Dec '25

Dear all, today marks a wonderful day, the day of the annual Christmas "party" in the Cluster building. Some of us ECRs will start by attending the politics *BrownBag *presentation at 12:00 in D351, and slowly make our way over to Y312. There will be some drinks and treats, but feel free to bring more! As it turns out, my own office is the usual one to set up a *minigolf* course in. Come join for a round, or just to hang out and not talk about work around *15:00 today, Friday 12 Dec. * Cheers, Summer -- Summer Isaacson (she/her) University of Konstanz Cluster of Excellence: "The Politics of Inequality" Room: Y312 Phone: +49 7531 88-5687 E-Mail:summer.isaacson@uni-konstanz.de

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Fwd: Research Position in ERC Project on State-Citizen Interactions
by Marius Busemeyer 11 Dec '25

11 Dec '25

FYI… Best Marius > Anfang der weitergeleiteten Nachricht: > > Von: "Jan P. Vogler" <jan.vogler(a)ps.au.dk> > Betreff: Research Position in ERC Project on State-Citizen Interactions > Datum: 9. Dezember 2025 um 14:18:46 MEZ > An: "Christian.breunig(a)uni.kn" <Christian.breunig(a)uni.kn>, "marius.busemeyer(a)uni-konstanz.de" <marius.busemeyer(a)uni-konstanz.de> > > Dear Christian and Marius, > > How are you? I hope that you have been doing well since we last met! > > Today, I am contacting you because I’m currently seeking to recruit a postdoc for my ERC Starting Grant project EQUILIBRIUM, which aims to investigate variation in state-citizen interactions across five European countries and the United States. The project builds upon research in political economy and public administration/bureaucratic politics. This is a 3-year position in the Political Science Department at Aarhus University in Denmark. > · The job ad can be found here <https://international.au.dk/about/profile/vacant-positions/job/postdoctoral…>. > · More details on the project can be found here <https://bss.au.dk/en/aarhus-bss-nyheder/show/artikel/erc-starting-grant-how…>. > > I’m reaching out to see if you may be able to share the announcement with PhD students in your department who are about to graduate and who would be potential fits for the project. I’m most interested in recruiting someone who has expertise in survey research and substantive interests that are related to the topic of state-citizen interactions/popular views of public institutions. Of course, if you happen to know any suitable candidates who have already graduated or are at other departments, please feel free to forward it to them as well. > > I have also advertised the position on several social media platforms: LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jan-p-vogler-a89a41134_3-year-postdoc-in-pol…>, BlueSky <https://bsky.app/profile/janvogler.bsky.social/post/3m7kip2r6cc2f>, and Twitter/X <https://x.com/Jan_Vogler/status/1998362081419211054?s=20>. > > Thanks so much and I wish you a great rest of the week! > > All the best from Aarhus, > Jan > -- > Associate Professor of Political Science > Aarhus University > www.janvogler.net <http://www.janvogler.net/>

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Progress report of the Cluster: Individual reporting - RSVP by 7 January - also if you are leaving the cluster :-)
by Frank Wehinger 10 Dec '25

10 Dec '25

Dear all, For our progress report, we are collecting information on specific research and transfer activities carried out by our cluster members. The process is very simple: Please list if you have anything to report under the corresponding heading. Reporting year: 2025 That's it. *If possible, please respond by 7 January. * Best regards, Frank *A: Awards & Fellowships *Best paper awards, newly awarded fellowships of academic institutions, other honors etc. (NOT: teaching awards of the university) *B: Transfer/consulting activities *e. g. Memberships of scientific advisory boards in non-scientific organizations, counseling positions and similar activities, NOT: presentations at academic workshops *C: Positions in the scientific community (outside U KON) *e. g. Advisory board Institute for the Advancement of Inequality Research, or Chairperson Section ECRs of the European Federation of Inequality Researchers etc. *D: Publications: only scientific publications (books, book chapters, journal articles, conference contributions, reports) *Are your publications already on KOPS <https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/home>? Then you *don't* have to report anything here. If your publications are not on KOPS, add them to KOPS or send the references to me (we will add them also to KOPS).

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21.1.2026: Workshop: Preparing for Post-Academic Career Paths, 9am-1pm
by Alexandra Frasch 09 Dec '25

09 Dec '25

Dear all, Following this year's Career Day in July, the Academic Staff Development is offering a workshop „Preparing for Post-Academic Career Paths”on 21 January 2026, 9-1 am. If you are interested, you can find more details and register at https://asd-veranstaltungen.uni-konstanz.de/promotion/event.php?vnr=613-10c Best, Alexandra -- *Alexandra Frasch * Coordinator Early Career Support *#GernePerDu* Universität Konstanz Exzellenzcluster "The Politics of Inequality" Universitätsstraße 10 D-78464 Konstanz Raum Y212 Tel.: +49 7531 88-5624 E-Mail: alexandra.frasch(a)uni-konstanz.de inequality.uni.kn @EXCInequality *In_equality magazin 07* **"In_klusion und Diversität" // "In_clusion and Diversity" Download & Subscription: https://inequality.uni.kn/magazine/

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Tales Mançano on FRI, Dec 12
by David Alexander Knoll 09 Dec '25

09 Dec '25

Hi all, for the last session of the Brown Bag this year, it is our pleasure to host Tales Mançano, who is currently visiting from the University of Sao Paolo. The title of his talk is "Political Economy of Post-Secondary Education in Brazil: A Comparative Skill Regime Approach" As usual, we meet at 12:00 in D351 on Friday, Dec 12. This also the date for our annual Christmas Party later that day, so don't forget to bring some cookies :) Looking forward to seeing all of you for a festive pre-Christmas session! Please find the abstract below: “Why does the Brazilian educational system differ so markedly from those of other OECD countries? The share of students in private institutions is astonishingly high, tracking is formally nonexistent, yet post-secondary education attainment is one of the lowest and markedly unequal. This paper aims to explain Brazil's educational lag and institutional characteristics that influence central dynamics of educational inequality through comparative welfare state theory and historical institutionalism. Tracing successive reforms from the colonial era to recent decades, the paper accounts for the current configuration of Brazil's educational system along three interrelated dimensions: (1) expansion of educational attainment, (2) commodification of educational provision, and (3) stratification, understood as how state regulations influence the unequal stratification of the population into tracks and levels. The analysis engages the educational-regimes framework developed by @Busemeyer2014. It combines cross-national datasets on attainment and Brazil-specific datasets [@Lee-Lee2016; @Kang-etal2021; @Paglayan2021]. The paper argues that Brazil's educational system exhibits deep historical hybridization that can be interpreted through modes of gradual institutional change [@Mahoney-Thelen2009], as reforms inspired by distinct regimes repeatedly reoriented reforms, generating paradigm shifts and added layers to the system. Brazil's pronounced educational lag can be traced to the colonial period, which was significant even when compared to Spanish colonies in Latin America, with policies to actively block access to education, pushing the country onto a more elitist trajectory than most countries in the Americas and Europe. A first rupture occurred in 1930, which shifted the country to a reform path resembling the continental European model under a conservative–corporatist logic adapted to Brazil's distinct political economy. This model introduced tracking, differentiating academic and vocational education. From the 1960s onward, reforms under U.S. influence advanced commodification and formal tracking was abolished, shifting the inequality dynamics toward market-led dualization. However, legacy institutions continued to operate and transmit earlier models' imprint. The reforms functioned more as layers in a hybrid system, not a robust and coherent change of paths. Redemocratization and the 1988 Constitution marked a critical juncture that placed educational expansion and inequality reduction at the center of the agenda, reflecting a social-democratic inspiration to welfare institutions. Yet each reform wave confronted durable legacies and constraints from prior institutional layers. The result is a hybrid configuration in which equalizing reforms must contend with inherited institutional configuration, such as the public–private dualism. Over the long run, the four worlds of Brazilian educational reform (framed as hierarchical, conservative-corporatist, liberal, and social-democratic in spirit) produced a layered hybrid marked by the mix of institutions designed for contradictory goals. This process of gradual institutional change helps explain the current configuration: a highly unequal, highly commodified system characterized by the absence of formal tracking, but a low and unequal access to post-secondary education. These features continue to shape the contemporary Brazilian educational system, even as recent policies have accelerated towards an equalizing agenda.” All the best, Flora, Tyler, and David -- David Knoll PhD Student Graduate School of the Social and Behavioural Sciences Department of Politics and Public Administration University of Konstanz https://www.polver.uni-konstanz.de/zuber/team/david-knoll/

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Invitation to the annual ECR-Christmas Party on Dec 12!
by David Alexander Knoll 04 Dec '25

04 Dec '25

Hello everyone! As Christmas is approaching rapidly, it is time again for the legendary annual Christmas Party of the Early Career Researchers (Mittelbau) at the department! Keeping up with traditions, we are looking forward to celebrate with you on the afternoon of Friday, December 12! For those eager to start early, there will be some Glühwein at the Brown Bag, and the highlight of the academic year, the annual minigolf tournament, will take place in Y 312 from 15:00 onwards – a big shoutout to Summer and Maren for hosting it! We will take care of a basic supply of Glühwein and a few cookies but it would be wonderful if everyone contributed something to eat or drink to the event pot-luck style. Feel free to extend the invitation to all members of your working groups (regardless of status), as we want to make the event a bit more inclusive compared to earlier years. We are looking forward to swinging our minigolf clubs and raising our glasses/Glühwein cups with you next week! All the best, David & Philipp -- David Knoll PhD Student Graduate School of the Social and Behavioural Sciences Department of Politics and Public Administration University of Konstanz https://www.polver.uni-konstanz.de/zuber/team/david-knoll/

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Brown Bag: Philipp Bien on Dec 05
by David Alexander Knoll 02 Dec '25

02 Dec '25

Dear all, for the next session of our Brown Bag seminar, we are excited to host Philipp Bien. He will present his project "Scrutinizing or Strengthening Diplomatic Efforts? Parliamentarians in International Organizations" on Friday, Dec 05, at 12:00 in D351. Please find the abstract below: Traditionally dominated by the executives, parliaments increasingly push for a more active role in multilateral affairs through International Parliamentary Institutions (IPIs). Conceptual research has argued that IPIs improve the democratic legitimacy of IOs by strengthening the accountability of IOs as they allow parliamentary oversight over executives. Empirically, it remains unclear if IPIs are accomplishing this task (Lipps, 2021; Malang, 2018). This paper provides further evidence in this regard. I theoretically derive the hypothesis that IPIs help MPs to hold the executive to account by way of improved access to otherwise scarce information. I test this hypothesis on a novel dataset on individual IPI membership and meeting attendance and question behavior in the German Bundestag between 2005 and 2021. Using fixed effects models, I show that MPs who are part of an IPI delegation do ask more questions to the foreign ministries, but that this effect is likely driven by self-selection. Within-MP evidence on individual meeting attendance and question behavior shows that MPs do not change their scrutiny behavior when they attend an IPI meeting. Further exploratory qualitative interview evidence suggest that MPs do not attend IPIs to improve their parliamentary oversight capacity, but rather to engage in informal diplomacy. My findings lend support to the water’s edge hypothesis and cast doubt on the claim that IPIs enhance the legitimacy of IOs by way of improving legislative control. We are looking forward to seeing you on Friday! All the best, Flora, Tyler, and David -- David Knoll PhD Student Graduate School of the Social and Behavioural Sciences Department of Politics and Public Administration University of Konstanz https://www.polver.uni-konstanz.de/zuber/team/david-knoll/

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Dinner with Meghan Condon
by Nadja Wehl 02 Dec '25

02 Dec '25

Dear all, Meghan Condon (https://meghancondon.weebly.com/) will be at the cluster. First, for a workshop from PerFair (details will follow) and then for her talk in the cluster colloquium. In the evening of December 09 there will be a joint dinner with Meghan. (Location is not yet clear). If you want to join, let me know until Tuesday, December 2nd. Best wishes, Nadja -- *Dr. Nadja Wehl* Postdoctoral Researcher University of Konstanz Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" Project: Students' Perceptions of Inequality and Fairness (PerFair) <https://www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/ungleichheit/forschung/projekte/students-pe…> https://sites.google.com/view/nadjawehl/about Bluesky: @na-wehl <https://bsky.app/profile/na-wehl.bsky.social>

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Reminder: Invitation for all doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to the Konstanz Career Week, Monday, 1–5 December 2025
by Alexandra Frasch 01 Dec '25

01 Dec '25

Dear all, This is to remind you that this week, the Konstanz Career Week for all doctoral and postdoctoral researchers will take place. Tonight, there will be a keynote on “Failure and Academic Life: An Uninspirational Talk” by Prof. Joe Moran (Liverpool John Moores University) with panel discussion and reception. Please find details below. Best, Alexandra ------------------------------------------------------------------- *Konstanz Career Week for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers* *1*–*5 December 2025* The Academic Staff Development and the Konstanz Research School cordially invite all new and established doctoral and postdoctoral researchers of the University of Konstanz to take part in the *Konstanz Career Week*, taking place from *Monday, 1 December, to Friday, 5 December*. The Konstanz Career Week offers information and orientation on academic careers for early-career researchers at all stages and across all disciplines. It provides opportunities to build contacts, acquire essential skills, and explore both academic and alternative career paths, while fostering networking and engagement within the University. The week will begin with a festive opening event on Monday, 1 December, 6.00–8.00 pm, featuring the keynote lecture “Failure and Academic Life: An Uninspirational Talk” by Prof. Joe Moran (Liverpool John Moores University), followed by a panel discussion and a networking reception with snacks and drinks. Prior to the opening, an Information Fair on Support, Guidance and Resources for Early Career Researchers will take place on level K7 from 5.00–6.00 pm, offering details on the University’s support services, facilities, and advocacy groups. Throughout the week, workshops, lectures, and social events will support research and teaching, provide insights into the German academic system, and help participants prepare for the next steps in their careers. Topics will include grant writing, academic contracts, international mobility, research data management, the visibility of female researchers, and more. For more information, registration and the event programme see _https://www.uni-konstanz.de/asd/aktuelles/aktuelles-asd/konstanz-career-week/ <https://www.uni-konstanz.de/asd/aktuelles/aktuelles-asd/konstanz-career-wee…>_ Viele Grüße, -- Silke Hell Universität Konstanz / University of Konstanz Konstanz Research School Leitung der Geschäftsstelle / Managing Director Academic Staff Development - Promotion / Doctorate Academic Staff Development V 609 Universitätsstraße 10 78464 Konstanz +49 7531 88-4987 -uni.kn/krs https://bbb.uni-konstanz.de/b/sil-pgr-wtp

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