Spectator Democracy: An Intersectional Analysis of Education Reform in Hamburg, Germany

Abstract

This article uses the theoretical framework of intersectionality to analyze a partially failed school reform measure in Hamburg, Germany and the political conflict over it between 2008 and 2010. The analysis focuses on the extent to which and the mechanisms by which the interests of marginalized members of the proreform coalition were represented in the reform measure and in advocacy on its behalf. The first section discusses the context for the reform, in terms of educational policy in Germany generally and in Hamburg specifically, and a brief overview of the reform measure. The second section explains the theoretical framework of intsersectionality and elaborates the research design for the study overall. In the final section, I present the major findings and consider them in terms of an intersectional analysis.