Ein deutscher Sonderweg? Die deutsche Embryonenforschungspolitik im Licht international vergleichender Daten

Abstract

The media as well as the social sciences depict German embryo research policies as unusually strict. The explanation for this is sought in the symbolic values fixed in the constitution and the national-socialist heritage. This interpretation, however, is grained from a number of case studies, whereas this paper analyses the German case in a comparative perspective. We ask whether Germany really is such an unusual case compared to other OECD countries. As a first step classical theories of comparative public policy-partisan difference hypothesis, institutional, political-economical and cultural theories—are applied. The article shows that these theories can explain the variation in embryo research policies in the OECD rather well, but fail for the German case. In a second step it is argued that a rationalist-institutionalist account of the German case fails as well. German policies cannot be seen as rational anticipations of the constitutional court’s position. By eliminating rival assumptions, a sociological-institutional hypothesis is strengthened. Only the specific constellation of national socialist heritage and constitutional discourse can explain German embryo research policies. For the policy field, the conclusion is that German embryo research policies will exhibit a high degree of stability.