Zeitenwende

Cathrin Kahlweit

Correspondent of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung for Austria and Central Eastern Europe

The term „ZEITENWENDE” has often been used since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine to describe the constraints and upheavals in thought and action that followed this shocking breach of international law. The war in Israel has further intensified the question of Europe’s role in wars and international crises.

A retrospective self-examination can only be the beginning of a new debate: Was Europe too naive, too negligent, too unprepared for old and new threats? What does Western solidarity with Ukraine mean in practical terms? Does Europe really need to become “war-ready”? How do you take entire societies along a path that is connoted with fear and threat? After all, NATO was already considered to be an obsolete model; investments in national and alliance defence were hardly feasible. Now, however, a set of values is to be protected and defence capabilities strengthened, while the international consensus on what is worth protecting and defending is more fragile than ever.