Sebastian Thieme

Sebastian Thieme received his Ph.D. in Politics from New York University and his M.Sc. in Political Science and Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Following postdoctoral appointments at Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Sebastian is now a postdoctoral researcher at the CEE, where he works with Professors Cyril Benoît (CEE & CNRS) and Mihaly Fazekas (Central European University) on the RESPOND project. Among other goals, the project seeks to examine corruption and favoritism in policy-making by collecting and using data on legislative and regulatory processes from European Union member states as well as neighboring countries. 

Teaching Experience

2025-2026 Spring Semester: Money and Private Influence in Politics. Elective seminar within the Master in Public Policy program (Policy Stream: Politics and Public Policy) at the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs. 

2024-2025 Spring Semester: Corruption and Economic Favouritism in Policymaking, with Cyril Benoît and Mihály Fazekas. Elective master’s level seminar at the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs and CEU’s Department of Public Policy (CIVICA course). 

At New York University, Sebastian taught undergraduate classes for seven courses (on quantitative methods, American politics, and political theory). His responsibilities included teaching weekly recitation classes, developing recitation content, holding office hours, as well as grading course assignments. 

Recent Conferences

2025

• Copenhagen Money in Politics Conference, Copenhagen Business School & Princeton University 
• European Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Madrid 
• Friends of IAST conference, Toulouse 

2024

• Copenhagen Money in Politics Conference, Copenhagen Business School & Princeton University
• Interdisciplinary Workshop on Identity and Politics, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST)
• IAST-Oxford-Sciences Po Paris Conference in Political Economy, Toulouse

Selected Prizes and Awards

2022: APSA Legislative Studies Section’s Jewell-Loewenberg Prize in Subnational Politics for the best article in the field published in LSQ in the previous year.

2022: Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST) Multidisciplinary Grant, joint with Bence Bago and Zoe Purcell

Contact and Website

• Email: sebastian.thieme@sciencespo.fr
• Website: sebastian-thieme.com

Sebastian’s research focus is on political economy, comparative politics, and American politics, with a sustained interest in political institutions, lobbying, legislative politics, campaign finance, polarization, and quantitative methods. One theme in his research is how private interests seek to influence the policy-making process. A second theme is how political institutions (such as elections, unified vs. divided government, or party leadership) affect political and economic decision-making. A third theme is how to assess and improve measures of important political concepts. 

• The Bill Please! Transparency of Legislative Website and Attitudes Towards Democracy
• RESPOND – Rescuing Democracy from Political Corruption in Digital Societies

2026. “Fundraising Events and Nonideological Donation Motivations.” with Sean Kates. Journal of Politics 88(4). 

2026.n.d. “(When) Are Lobbying Expenditures a Good Proxy for Lobbying Activity?” (Political Science Research and Methods 14(1): 160-167) 

2023. “Institutional Constraints on the Executive, Investment, and Elections,” with Brandice Canes-Wrone and Christian Ponce de León. Presidential Studies Quarterly 53(2): 273-292. 

2021. “A Direct Test of Legislative Gatekeeping.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 46(4): 855-888. 

2020. “Moderation or Strategy? Political Giving by Corporations and Trade Groups .” Journal of Politics 82(3): 1171-1175.