The Debate on Shared Parenting in Germany

Abstract

Science versus Advocacy looms large in the debate on shared parenting in Germany as it touches a topic widely regarded to be one of the most contentious in the country today. Discourse theory spells out the conditions for a fruitful debate and provides a methodological framework for describing the characteristics of the German discourse on shared parenting. The paper analyses secondary sources of key participants in the debate against the backdrop of the presuppositions of an ideal communicative structure of rationality, reflection, inclusiveness, and truthfulness. Where these communicative structures are missing to a large extent advocacy will dominate science and policy makers, legal professionals and practitioners in family policy will be shielded from the ‘best information available’. Since decisionmakers need scientific expert opinion to guide policy making and the application of law, the paper concludes with a proposal to equip them with the tools to discern science from advocacy.