Xenia Frei wins Best Paper Award at the 2nd Workshop on Analytical Modelling Approaches to Understanding Democracy

Xenia Frei won the Best Paper Award at the  “2nd Workshop on Analytical Modelling Approaches to Understanding Democracy” with her paper “The toothless tiger - Strategic appointments to the US Supreme Court”. The workshop took place from August 23^rd to 25^th, 2023 at Radboud University.

The paper addresses the question why politicians appoint extreme judges to the Supreme Court. The public is frequently puzzled when Senate confirms Supreme Court nominees, which are far more extreme in their judicial views than the majority of the Senate. Research has not been able to explain the leverage presidents seem to have over the senate. The paper shows analytically that extreme judges can have a moderating effect on the court. It can therefore be rational for moderate politicians to appoint extreme judges.

The Award Committee, consisting of Prof. Stanley Winder and Prof. Otto Swank awarded the paper because it addresses an important topic with an original and clever approach. 

Xenia Frei is a researcher at ifo Dresden and a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Business and Economics at TU Dresden.