@phdthesis{LeNoan, author = {Le Noan, Anne-Cl{\´e}mence}, title = {Changing the way social inequality in education is treated in France and Germany: Schule macht stark (2019) and Les contrats locaux d'accompagnement (2020) as contrasting examples of layering}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6167}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-61674}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {316}, abstract = {France and Germany are among the OECD countries where social origin most strongly affects educational achievement. While the structural causes of this phenomenon have been widely studied, the institutionalization of its policy treatment and the room for manoeuvre available to policymakers to bring change in these two contrasting education systems remain underexplored. This dissertation addresses this gap through a comparative analysis of two recent policies targeting schools in disadvantaged areas: Schule macht stark in Germany and les contrats locaux d'accompagnement in France. Drawing on process-tracing, the analysis of documents and 50 interviews, and grounded in neo-institutionalist theory, this research shows that these policies exemplify layering: strong veto players constrained policymakers to implement change through the addition of experimental initiatives rather than through reform of existing policies. These shifts affected policy orientations—toward greater efficiency in France and greater equity in Germany—policy instruments—via the strengthening of New Public Management—and governance levels—with the involvement of the federal tier in Germany. In France, changes were rapid but short-lived, marked by the political instrumentalization of experimentation. In Germany, they were slower but more enduring, supported by academic expertise. In both cases, broader initiatives—Conseil national de la refondation and the Startchancen-Programm—have continued these trajectories, illustrating the relevance of the layering approach.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Wilkins, author = {Wilkins, Katherine}, title = {The New 'NORMal'? How innovative actors are reshaping the global approach to controlling corruption}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6166}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-61661}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {166}, abstract = {This dissertation explores the evolving global anti-corruption regime and examines the interplay between norms and strategic interests in shaping responses to corruption. While traditional narratives portray anti-corruption policy as a normative undertaking, in this dissertation I argue that states' responses to corruption are meaningfully shaped by the pursuit of geopolitical interests. At the theoretical level, this dissertation contributes to the rationalism-constructivism debate in international relations theory. Drawing on March and Olsen's dual logics analytical framework, this dissertation introduces a model of bounded decision-making in which norms serve as boundary conditions for responses, but interests shape their scope and intensity. In this model, states attempt to balance norms and interests by prioritizing interest-driven actions while still seeking to maintain normative legitimacy within the international system. Examining the recent decade of anti-corruption rulemaking and a key case of enforcement, this dissertation offers evidence that states may introduce or enforce anti-corruption rules as an instrument of geopolitical strategy. These findings have broad implications for international cooperation on corruption. Additionally, this dissertation contributes to the theoretical understanding of norm development within the analytical framework of network governance theory, which posits that complex global challenges can be effectively addressed through decentralized approaches to governance. This research further examines the role of non-state actors in anti- corruption governance, offering new evidence of how non-state actors navigate norm development, and examining these processes in the context of broader governance trends, especially the shifting relationships between state and non-state actors. These findings support the arguments of network governance theory on the role of non-state actors in global governance, demonstrating how they are shaping norms, including normative constraints on state decision-making. The empirical findings of this dissertation highlight the complexity of anti-corruption governance in a competitive global environment. By emphasizing the role of geopolitical interests in shaping responses to corruption, this research counters the prevailing narrative of anti-corruption as an exclusively normative field. These findings have significant implications for policymakers and anti-corruption advocates, calling for a nuanced understanding of state interests and the influence of non-state actors for advancing global anti-corruption efforts in an increasingly competitive international environment.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{GarciaCorral, author = {Garc{\´i}a-Corral, Paulina}, title = {Framing attributions: A methodological and conceptual contribution to the study of explanations in political discourse}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6124}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-61241}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {iv, 137}, abstract = {As humans, we think of the social world in causal terms, seeking to answer questions that help us make sense of what happens around us, predict future outcomes, and address current issues. The way we communicate displays our causal reasoning, as it is through language that we share how we think the world works, and also attempt to control how others perceive who is responsible of social issues and how to fix them. Therefore, analyzing the use of causal expressions in the public sphere is crucial to better understand political discourse and its downstream effects on political opinion, attitudes, and behavior. In this dissertation, I develop a framework to identify and extract expressions of causal attributions from political text, drawing on techniques from computational linguistics. To do this, I design a coding scheme and create a corpus annotated for causal language in the political domain. I test the corpus on a broad range of pre-trained language models on the task of identifying and parsing expressions of causality: from smaller transformer-based models such as Bert, to modern Large Language Models, like GPT-4. Additionally, I introduce an evaluation strategy tailored to test if a model's causal extraction is done through linguistic parsing or by leveraging causal patterns learned during pre-training. After interpreting experimental results, I develop a framework to parse expressions of causal attributions in text, adapted for political methodology. With this novel measurement tool, I empirically examine the constructions of causality used in the coverage of two international conflicts. I demonstrate the method's capabilities and ease of use for political science research. With insights from the case study, I conceptualize "non attribution", and posit it as a unique framing practice, complementary to responsibility framing. With it, I argue that the omission of causal attributions is a distinct frame, and not a neutral absence in news coverage. With this dissertation, I extend the current scholarship on causal language modeling, and show how new text-as-data methods can be used to scale and examine discourse to identify novel concepts, and extend previous work in political communication.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Tiedemann, author = {Tiedemann, Silvana}, title = {Essays in empirical energy economics: Real-time electricity pricing, energy saving rewards, and auctions in the energy transition}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {264}, abstract = {The transition to a sustainable energy system requires a balance between climate protection, economic efficiency, and energy security. This dissertation contributes to understanding how to achieve these policy goals by evaluating the effect of real-time pricing on demand-side flexibility, financial incentives for energy savings, and auction-based steering of the national capacity mix. The two articles in the first part examine the challenges of estimating the response of electricity demand to real-time pricing. Despite theoretical expectations that dynamic pricing allows for flexible electricity consumption, empirical analyses show that consumers respond little to short-term fluctuations. However, they may systematically adjust consumption, providing a form of demand flexibility that is not captured by some econometric models. Moreover, time dynamics can bias results if not properly addressed. This work therefore advances our understanding of how to isolate different types of responses and how to interpret empirical findings. The article in the second part examines financial incentives for energy savings, focusing on gas saving rewards implemented during the European energy crisis of 2022/23. Analyzing micro-level consumption data, this research employs a matched control group design and the presently developed Double/Debiased Machine Learning estimator to show that direct financial incentives significantly reduce gas consumption. The two articles in the third part evaluate auctions to manage the national capacity mix. An evaluation of Germany's coal phase-out auctions shows that the mechanism was designed to balance competing policy objectives, resulting in relatively low compensation costs but increasing the carbon intensity of the remaining coal fleet. The study of renewable energy auctions estimates bidders' true costs and mark-ups, revealing significant heterogeneity in bidding strategies based on firm size and market experience. Overall, this dissertation provides empirical evidence for designing effective policies to advance the energy transition, drawing on econometric and causal methods. The findings underscore the need for tailored incentive structures and market mechanisms that are consistent with policy objectives, consumer behavior, and market dynamics.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Gao, author = {Gao, Lin}, title = {Polyphony in Motion: The Sustained Multivocality of Social Entrepreneurship in China}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6025}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-60259}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {xiii, 170}, abstract = {Sustained multivocality - the coexistence of divergent interpretations of the same phenomenon - is a common yet under-theorized condition in field evolution. This dissertation examines how the multivocality surrounding the concept of social entrepreneurship persists and even deepens in China, despite conditions that typically favor convergence. The study focuses on three key intermediary organizations in China, which interpret social entrepreneurship in increasingly distinct ways, despite all emerging from the field's early discourse and facing pressure from powerful forces to forge consensus. This study employs a qualitative research design to unpack the processes and mechanisms through which the multivocality not only persists but also deepens over time. The study contributes to our understanding of meaning-making and field evolution in three ways. First, it develops a relational frame typology, identifying four types of frames - elastic, normative, ideological, and pragmatic - each carrying distinct relational implications. It advances the literature by demonstrating that frames are relation-laden constructs and, once enacted, position actors relationally within the field and shape the opportunity space for future meaning-making. Second, building on and extending the insights from the framing and sensemaking literature, it conceptualizes meaning construction as a multifaceted, situated, and relational process in which actors construct meanings through the simultaneous interpretation of the self, the object, and the context. Central to this process is the self-context orientation, which refers to how one perceives and positions oneself in relation to the context. Third, it explains that sustained multivocality emerges from the dynamic interplay between actors' places in the context, or the situated self, and their choice of frames. Drawing on Bakhtin's concept of polyphony, it then theorizes sustained interpretive divergence not as a temporary disarray or failure of power to converge, but as a durable and generative form of order. Polyphony, as theorized here, offers a lens for understanding how order can emerge through divergence, moving beyond the consensus-driven paradigm and the power-centric view. The study concludes by inviting a rethinking of consensus, relationality, and organizing in a world characterized by increasing fluidity, ambiguity, and ongoing change.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Koh, author = {Koh, Allison}, title = {Platformed Power Plays: Authoritarian Adaptations in Foreign Social Media Spaces}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6024}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-60240}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {xi, 119}, abstract = {Social media platforms profoundly influence our perception of the world, shaping the way we receive and spread information. They shed light on crucial issues such as political violence and police repression, thereby holding governments accountable for their repressive actions. However, the governments implicated in such cases often attempt to curtail the impact of these digital platforms. They restrict domestic access to international communication channels, impose internet blackouts during political unrest, and intimidate dissidents into silence. Despite these efforts, states persistently grapple with the challenge of controlling the global narratives being spread on foreign social media platforms that lie just beyond their reach. In this cumulative dissertation, I attempt to answer the question of how repressive regimes control information flows in foreign social media spaces, even when they cannot exercise direct provision over these platforms. I argue that states "play by the rules" of the foreign social media spaces that they intend to influence, which often entails producing content that aligns with liberal democratic norms. In doing so, they evade sounding the alarm for foreign governments and the international community to sanction them. In a constantly evolving landscape of transnational social media regulation, states also benefit from foreign platforms that recently became havens for contentious political activity. In the conceptual work of this dissertation, I offer a broad overview of how states deal with diaspora dissent on foreign platforms. To empirically test my expectations on how regime supporters exploit platform governance vulnerabilities, I analyze pro-PRC actors' responses to Uyghur regime critics in exile on Twitter. To test my expectations on recent shifts in the global regulatory landscape of foreign social media spaces, I leverage a recent change in Twitter's policies for government and state-affiliated media. Overall, the evidence presented in this dissertation supports the notion that limited information control in foreign social media spaces can pose obstacles for contemporary governments who aim to engage in digital authoritarian practices. However, there remain vulnerabilities in platform governance that make it possible for states and their proxies to target key regime threats and manipulate the global public sphere as part of their foreign policy. Ultimately, this has important ramifications for policies aimed at transnational social media regulation and mitigating the online facets of global authoritarianism.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Wriedt, author = {Wriedt, Vera}, title = {Bordering Belonging: Colonialism, Nationality and Expulsions in the European and African Human Rights Systems}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6023}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-60236}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {xxii, 272}, abstract = {This thesis investigates how the European and African regional human rights systems reproduce or counteract border coloniality in their drafting of norms and subsequent caselaw on matters of nationality and expulsions. Rather than taking the European human rights system as a yardstick to emulate, the analysis critiques its restrictive moves, whilst highlighting transformative contestations of exclusion in the African human rights system. In the European system, the colonial clause built into the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights was further refined in its 1963 Protocol 4 to distinguish between metropolitan and non-metropolitan territories with regard to entry and expulsion. These differentiations reverberate in caselaw that denies the right to nationality and legitimises collective expulsions based on tropes of danger and culpability, whereas judgments upholding the rights of people on the move across borders appear as outliers. In the African system, the anti-colonialism shaping the drafting of the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights was followed by innovative interpretations reading the right to nationality into the right to recognition of legal status, as well as holistic protection against collective expulsions linked to related rights, but the jurisprudence is limited. Despite epistemic shifts away from the denigration of former colonial subjects crossing borders and moves towards the expansive interpretation of some rights, both systems operate within the limits of codified human rights law, in which many structural elements of border coloniality engrained in statist migration law remain unchallenged and perhaps unchallengeable. By providing the first juxtaposition of these issues in the European and African human rights systems, the thesis contributes to comparative international human rights law, critiques of the coloniality of international law, and border regime studies.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Gross, author = {Groß, Greta Frederike}, title = {Narrating for Democratic Resilience: Morality and Future Orientation in Political Communication}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6019}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-60199}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {194}, abstract = {This dissertation examines how political communication shapes democratic resilience under conditions of compounding crises. It starts from the premise that liberal democracies confront an external crisis of global threats such as climate change and an internal crisis of democratic legitimacy, expressed through affective polarization and institutional short-termism. Both dynamics constrain democracies' capacity for problem-solving and raise questions about the role of political communication in shaping public understanding and collective action. The dissertation studies two communicative obstacles to democratic problem-solving: the difficulty of engaging across affectively polarized groups and the challenge of articulating shared future-oriented narratives. Three empirical studies investigate how democratic actors navigate these barriers and how specific narrative strategies may help to overcome them. Chapter 2 compares the moral rhetoric used by Jacinda Ardern and Boris Johnson in their parliamentary communication before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Drawing on the idea that political messages employing a broad moral repertoire may appeal across partisan lines, the chapter develops a scalable measure of moral diversity. Automated content analysis reveals limited differences between both leaders and no substantial increase in moral diversity during the crisis. The findings indicate unexploited potential to build more inclusive and persuasive crisis communication. Chapter 3 uses a survey experiment in Germany to test whether moral reframing—aligning policy messages with recipients' moral values—can decrease affective polarization. Varying the message framing, issue domain, and messenger characteristics, the study shows that moral reframing increases openness to cross-partisan policy proposals among respondents on both the political left and right. The results inform debates on the effectiveness and limits of depolarizing communication strategies in divided societies. Chapter 4 analyzes temporal narratives in German parliamentary discourse from 1991 to 2024 to assess how often and under which institutional conditions politicians refer to the future. The findings show that future-oriented rhetoric clusters in the early stages of legislative periods and is more prevalent among governing parties, suggesting that electoral incentives contribute to democratic myopia and reduce attention to long-term challenges. Overall, the dissertation advances research on the communicative foundations of democratic resilience by highlighting narrative approaches that may help solving contemporary crises.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{RamirezRuiz, author = {Ramirez-Ruiz, Sebastian}, title = {The Evidence Interface: How policymakers encounter, engage with, and make sense of scientific knowledge}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6015}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-60150}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {xx, 182}, abstract = {While evidence can be a critical input for policymaking, our understanding of how it flows from research and expert communities to elite decision-makers remains remarkably limited. Studying these flows, and the relationships that underpin them, is inherently difficult. They are fragmented, politically mediated, and largely unobservable. This dissertation addresses these challenges by advancing a data-extensive computational social science approach, drawing on alternative (largely unstructured) data sources to systematically observe and characterize elite-evidence interactions. This project consists of four studies, involves the creation of new data infrastructures, and provides a foundation for future research and a proof of concept for investigating these dynamics. The first study analyzes behavioral data from nearly 3,700 legislators across 12 countries to examine how elected officials follow and interact with academic researchers on Twitter, revealing that engagement is rare and shaped by partisanship and educational background, though exogenous shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic can increase attention to medical expertise. The second study maps the evidence cited in 1.2 million policy documents across 185 countries, demonstrating the persistent dominance of research produced in the global North and highlighting systematic epistemic asymmetries in policy-relevant knowledge. The third study introduces the Bundestag Expert Witness Tracker (BEWIT), capturing all public expert hearings in the German Bundestag from 2009 to 2024, and shows how political gatekeeping and transparency reforms shape which experts inform legislative processes. The fourth study develops and validates the INSPIRE instrument, a psychometrically robust measure of scientific evidence consumption literacy for public policy contexts, providing a framework for assessing individuals' capacity to engage with complex evidence. Together, these studies offer new perspectives on who gets seen and heard, what kinds of expertise gain traction, and how institutional and individual factors can shape evidence use in practice.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Harter, author = {Harter, Anina}, title = {Essays in Applied Microeconomics: How Shocks and Institutions Shape Policy Preferences and Public Spending}, doi = {10.48462/opus4-6012}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-60126}, school = {Hertie School}, pages = {viii, 120}, abstract = {This dissertation in applied microeconomics studies how political institutions and external shocks shape individual policy preferences and public spending. It comprises three self-contained chapters. Chapter 1 investigates the role of legislative institutions in the allocation of public funds. Chapters 2 and 3 analyze the impact of disruptive events on individual preferences for health policies. Chapter 1 studies how legislative institutions shape distributive policy outcomes. Specifically, it examines the allocation of federal grants by the German Bundestag's budget committee. Using a difference-in-differences design, the analysis shows that gaining a seat on the budget committee doubles the average grant amount allocated to a legislator's electoral district. This committee benefit in the allocation of grants is driven by internal committee hierarchy, rather than affiliation with the government or incentives from mandate types. Chapter 2 examines how individuals' previous experience of disruptive events shapes demand for current crisis remedies. Using a model of experience-based learning and micro-level survey data from 19 countries, this chapter finds that individuals who have been exposed to disasters or armed conflict are more willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. A case study using survey data from Russia reveals that this effect is conditional on trust in government. Chapter 3 analyzes how a single disruptive event can alter individuals' preferences for abortion policy. It studies the 1976 Seveso chemical disaster which sharply increased perceived risk of industrial toxic exposure, particularly for pregnant women. Using pre-accident data on industrial plant locations and municipality-level voting, this study finds that proximity to hazardous industry reduced support for a restrictive abortion policy.}, language = {en} }