What's in a Name? The Meaning of Zeitenwende for German Politics

In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a Zeitenwende signalling a departure from Germany's long-standing non-military and responsible foreign policy. But, what does Zeitenwende mean to the policymakers implementing it? This paper conceptualises Zeitenwende as a legitimation frame for politicians to explain and justify changes in Germany's stance towards European security governance. Through the analysis of a dataset of speeches held in the German Bundestag since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the study explores the meaning policymakers attribute to Zeitenwende and how the concept has been used as a framing device by German politicians. It finds that Zeitenwende served as a successful justificatory frame for legitimizing foreign policy changes across political parties. The paper concludes by highlighting the broader relevance of these findings for international relations scholars and students of European security, offering insights into norm contestation and norm decay in the context of European conflict dynamics.