Conflict, Feminism and Identity in German Social Politics-a discourse analysis on gender equality and freedom of choice

Abstract: This paper's interest is the debate about the Child Care Subsidy (Betreuungsgeld). A German family policy that came into force in August 2013. The subsidy rewards parents that take care of their children themselves instead of sending them to daycare centres. The paper shall illustrate how the tedious dispute on this policy between government and opposition constituted space for discourses revealing political, societal and structural conflicts. Applying the discourse theoretical approach by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, this interpretive study will expound how a debate on family policy evolved into a discussion on gender equality and freedom of choice. Other conflict areas will be uncovered such as the towing process of expanding nursery centres in Germany and structural restraints that impede political reforms, setting the ground for a strong path dependency. The paper will elaborate discursive structures, positions and identities by consulting qualitative data such as parliamentary protocols, official party statements and online articles. Moreover it will bespeak what this debate holds for the feminist identity and the implementation of gender equality in Germany by referring to Mouffe's concept of radical democracy and Esping-Andersen's concept of women friendly politics.