Workshop: Facilitating Empirical Studies of Judicial Behavior on Constitutional Courts from a Comparative Perspective

这项提议将资助一个为期两天的讲习班，使一个从比较角度研究高等法院的跨学科学者小组汇聚一堂。研讨会将向学者介绍研讨会上不同学者群体使用的各种理论和方法。讲习班参与者将确定新的研究领域，以便从针对国家和地区的研究转向真正涉及比较研究的文献，目的是通过研究视角的交叉交流来促进科学理论的进步。除了为知名学者提供新的研究视角外，研讨会还将促进初级和高级学者以及研究生之间的合作研究。讲习班将制定研究议程，从比较的角度为高等法院的研究带来新的理论观点。虽然对美国最高法院以外的其他法院的研究在理论和方法上都已经成熟和进步，但还没有统一的理论或协调一致的努力来发展更完整的高等法院理论和实证研究体系。对独特法院的研究，或者充其量是对特定地区法院的研究，在各种文献中占据主导地位。为了解决研究中的这一局限，讲习班打算促进真正的比较研究，以促进理论上的理解以及经验数据的收集和核实。讲习班的目的是让来自不同学科的学者聚集在一起，他们专注于不同的理论和法院，提供对话和合作的机会。研讨会将由德克萨斯州沃斯堡的德克萨斯农工大学主办。议程将包括从不同角度对主要主题的概述、关于方法和理论挑战的一系列讨论以及理论建设和新的研究方向。

This proposal will fund a two day workshop to bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars who study high courts from a comparative perspective. The workshop will introduce scholars to various theories and methodologies used by the disparate group of scholars at the workshop. Workshop participants will identify new areas of study in order to move from country- and region-specific studies to a literature that truly involves comparative research, with the goal or fostering advancement of scientific theory through cross-fertilization of research perspectives. In addition to offering established scholars new perspectives on research, the workshop will facilitate collaborative research among junior and senior scholars, as well as graduate students. The workshop will develop a research agenda to bring new theoretical perspectives to the study of high courts from a comparative perspective. While the study of courts other than the U.S. Supreme Court has matured and advanced both theoretically and methodologically, there is no unifying theory or concerted effort to develop a more integrated body of theoretical and empirical research of high courts. Studies of unique courts, or at best studies of courts from particular regions, dominate the various literatures. To address this limitation in the research, the workshop intends to facilitate truly comparative research that advances theoretical understanding as well as empirical data collection and verification. The workshop aims to bring together an interdisciplinary group scholars from various disciplines who focus on disparate theories and courts, offering an opportunity for dialogue and collaboration. The workshop will be hosted by Texas A&M University in Fort Worth, Texas. The agenda will include an overview of dominant themes from various perspectives, a series of discussions on methodological and theoretical challenges, as well as theory building and new directions of research.