Description
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, described by Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a Zeitenwende (historic turning point), marked a critical disruption in European security and triggered a fundamental rethinking of German foreign, security, and defence policy. This paper explores the invasion as a temporal shock to Germany’s ontological security. Building on the 'temporal turn' in International Relations, we argue that the war not only violated Ukraine's sovereignty but also shattered a broader sense of chronological continuity in European security, long defined by reduced defence spending and the assumption that interstate war was obsolete. Where previous studies have focused on temporal security within national contexts of collective memory, this paper expands the concept by embedding it within a geo-temporal framework, considering how international narratives of war, peace, and order shape state behaviour. We contend that the war disrupted long-standing German paradigms such as Ostpolitik and Wandel durch Handel (change through trade), leading to the emergence of the Zeitenwende narrative, which calls for a revitalized military and leadership role in European defence. Yet, this narrative remains constrained by incremental policy implementation and historical associations with Germany’s militaristic past, creating ongoing ontological insecurity about Germany’s role in European defence.
