The Politics of the Zeitenwende in Historical Comparison.

This article compares the party-political impacts of the Zeitenwende with those of three historic Germany foreign policy turns, each of which followed a dramatically altered international environment: the advent of the Cold War, the superpower détente, and the Cold War's end. Each produced distinctive patterns of government-opposition and intra-coalition relations accompanied by strong chancellor leadership, patterns that have been largely absent after 24 February 2022. To understand why the domestic politics of the Zeitenwende has differed, the article briefly assesses factors such as the person of the chancellor, the sequencing of government formation and international pressure, the size of the chancellor party's majority, the extent to which the respective policy debate has centered on Germany's national identity and territorial integrity, and the associated costs of the new policy course. It finds that the last two issues best account for why the domestic politics of the current Zeitenwende have diverged from those of the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]