Jenna Bednar is an American political scientist who is Professor of Public Policy at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. In 2019, her book ''The Robust Federation: Principles of Design'' was awarded the

American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, ...

Martha Derthick Book Award.

Early life and education

Bednar was an undergraduate at the

. She moved to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

as a doctoral researcher, where she earned a PhD in 1998. Her doctorate investigated the political economy of federal stability. After graduating, she worked at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Research and career

Bender studies the political mechanisms that give rise to stabilities in federal states. She has studied how institutions maintain and distribute authority. Her research showed that the distribution of authority by a constitution can be meaningless if governments do not abide by them. With a focus on the United States, she has examined how the federal government takes advantage of state governments. In 2009, Bednar published ''The Robust Federation, Principles of Design'', a book which examines how federal constitution can produce resilient governments. The book is mainly theoretical, and was inspired by the writings of the

Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the Am ...

. In 2019, ''The Robust Federation: Principles of Design'' was awarded the

Martha Derthick Book Award.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bednar, Jenna Living people Stanford University alumni University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan faculty American political scientists American women political scientists Year of birth missing (living people) University of Iowa people