Stefanie Rueß

@excinequality.bsky.social
@uni-konstanz.de
@fgz-risc.bsky.social

Policy implications:
- More balanced regional media reporting
- Stronger anti-discrimination & media-literacy training for caseworkers

Why it matters:
Administrative decisions should be based on need—not ethnicity. But illiberal norms and media cues can shift how state agents treat applicants.

Key findings:
- Discrimination rises in regions with stronger anti-immigrant sentiment
- Negative media stories activate stereotypes and reinforce discriminatory behavior
- Media framing matters: groups not mentioned negatively receive more support

Design:
Using a preregistered survey (1,400 caseworkers in 60 German job centers), we examine how they respond to: (1) (artificial) news on alleged welfare fraud and (2) varied applicant profiles in a conjoint on Citizen’s Benefit request.

Illiberal Norms, Media Reporting, and Bureaucratic Discrimination: Evidence from State-Citizen Interactions in Germany - Stefanie Rueß, Gerald Schneider, Jan P. Vogler, 2025 Recent research on the rise of radical right-wing parties highlights the activation of deeply rooted illiberal norms in society, including hostility toward marg...

💡New Publication: Thrilled to share the first paper from my dissertation is now out in @cpsjournal.bsky.social. With @geraldschneider.bsky.social and @janvogler.bsky.social, I study how regional anti-immigrant sentiment and negative news shape decisions of bureaucrats.

doi.org/10.1177/0010...

⚒️ Policy implications:
- More balanced regional media reporting
- Stronger anti-discrimination & media-literacy training for caseworkers

❗️ Why it matters: Administrative decisions should be based on need—not ethnicity. But illiberal norms and media cues can shift how state agents treat applicants.

💡 Key findings:
- Discrimination rises in regions with stronger anti-immigrant sentiment
- Negative media stories activate stereotypes and reinforce this discriminatory behavior
- Media framing matters: groups not mentioned negatively receive more support

🔎 Design: Using a preregistered original survey (1,400 caseworkers in 60 German job centers), we examine how they respond to: (1) (artificial) news on alleged welfare fraud, and (2) varied applicant profiles in a conjoint on Citizen’s Benefit request.

Policy implications:
- More balanced regional media reporting
- Stronger anti-discrimination & media-literacy training for caseworkers

Why it matters: Administrative decisions should be based on need—not ethnicity. But illiberal norms and media cues can shift how state agents treat applicants.

Key findings:
- Discrimination rises in regions with stronger anti-immigrant sentiments
- Negative media stories activate stereotypes and reinforce discriminatory behavior
- Media framing matters: groups not mentioned negatively receive more support

Design: Using a preregistered survey (1,400 caseworkers in 60 German job centers), we examine how they respond to: (1) (artificial) news on alleged welfare fraud and (2) varied applicant profiles in a conjoint on Citizen’s Benefit request.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Here is the direct link to this new article on bureaucratic discrimination. We show, based on a large sample of caseworkers, that media reports on social welfare fraud influence decisions on unemployment benefits.

Eine neue Studie unseres Clusters @uni-konstanz.de zeigt: Negative Medienberichte über bestimmte Migrant*innengruppen können bei der Vergabe von Bürgergeld zu Diskriminierung führen! Mehr Infos: t1p.de/lv33e

@steffiru.bsky.social @geraldschneider.bsky.social @janvogler.bsky.social

Happy to share our first publication with the DEMOLAW team! 🤓☺️

Constantin, Roman, and Steffen at the Aarhus University Political Science Department.

@kaplaner.bsky.social and @steffenhurka.bsky.social had the privilege to present and discuss the DEMOLAW project at the University of Aarhus. DEMOLAW thanks @rsenninger.bsky.social and the entire department of political science for the kind invitation, the hospitality, and the great feedback!

3 Doctoral Positions in LiVV – Project Cluster “The Politics of Inequality” Deadline: September 24, 2025

Anke Hoeffler, Tanja Kupisch, and I are happy to announce three doctoral positions in the project "Lifting the Veil of Violence: Inequality and Representation after War” (LiVV) at ‪the Cluster of Excellence @excinequality.bsky.social‬ at @uni-konstanz.de‬.
stellen.uni-konstanz.de/jobposting/4...

The DEMOLAW team having a beer in a square in Madrid

DEMOLAW team drinks in Madrid #EPSA2025

Great read!

I don’t typically post much, but I’m excited to share a guest essay co-authored with @jacobhacker.bsky.social which was published today in the @nytimes.com, as well as two reports we just published at the @equitablegrowth.bsky.social on Republican’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

This week, we're in Madrid for #EPSA2025 where @kaplaner.bsky.social will present our first empirical research paper "Balancing Versatility and Precision: A Framework for Caputring Legislative Design Choice in Democratic Systems" on Thursday at 17:00 (-1.A.05).

Title and abstract

On Thursday at 17:00 (-1.A.05) @kaplaner.bsky.social presents "Balancing Versatility and Precision:
A Framework for Capturing Legislative Design Choices in Democratic Systems", the first empirical paper of the @demolaw.bsky.social project. #EPSA2025

DEMOLAW conceptual paper: tinyurl.com/5auvzcbs

DEMOLAW Project objective

Hello world! We are DEMOLAW, an ERC-funded project investigating the design, creation, and survival of democratic laws.

Our website is now live! sites.google.com/view/demolaw

To read our first research paper, visit: tinyurl.com/58p4m2m4

We will be at #EPSA2025 in Madrid & look forward to meeting!

The DEMOLAW team:
PI: Steffen Hurka (@steffenhurka.bsky.social)
Postdocs: Constantin Kaplaner (@kaplaner.bsky.social), Stefanie Rueß (@steffiru.bsky.social), Mike Cowburn (@mikecowburn.bsky.social)
Research assistant: Amelie Sieber

Follow us here for updates on our work & publications.

Meet the DEMOLAW-Team! Constantin Kaplaner (@kaplaner.bsky.social), Stefanie Rueß (@steffiru.bsky.social), myself, Amelie Sieber and Mike Cowburn (@mikecowburn.bsky.social). So much looking forward to the years ahead!

Follow us at @demolaw.bsky.social!