New Publication in Comparative Political Studies

Stefanie Rueß, Research Fellow in the Chair of European Politics, has a new article published in Comparative Political Studies. The study, co-authored with Gerald Schneider and Jan P. Vogler, examines how illiberal norms and media reporting shape discriminatory behavior among street-level bureaucrats in Germany. Drawing on a preregistered original survey of 1,400 caseworkers from 60 German job centers, the authors combine an experimental media exposure with a paired conjoint experiment on unemployment benefit decisions. The findings show that discrimination against Romanian applicants increases in regions with stronger anti-immigrant sentiment and is reinforced by negative media coverage of alleged welfare fraud. At the same time, media framing can also shift support toward immigrant groups not portrayed negatively. The study highlights how media narratives and regional attitudes can influence administrative decision-making, with important implications for impartiality in welfare service provision.