The End of Civilian Power
Year: 2024

This chapter assesses to what extent Germany's Zeitenwende—the “watershed moment” of Russia's invasion of Ukraine—has already changed Germany's foreign and security policy identity from “military restraint” and “civilian power” to a return to military power and leadership; how lasting this change might be; and what the implications are for broader European security and transatlantic relations. It argues that the most important explanatory framework to understand German foreign policy after reuni