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Germany's New War: 11 September and Its Aftermath in German Quality Newspapers

Following a narrative-based approach for studying political culture, this article examines the active role of German newspapers at both ends of the political spectrum in creating and contesting meaning around the suicide hijackings of 11 September 2001 in the USA and the subsequent military campaign. It is argued that the German decision to contribute troops to the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom indicates a sea-change in Germany's political self-perception. For the first time since World War II, the meaning of the government's strategy of committing troops has been constructed without reference to the Third Reich and the moral imperatives resulting from this traumatic past. Without this common focus, however, the robust consensus about the well-defined role of military force, which had characterised German foreign policy until the end of the Kosovo War, is likely to fade. Whereas both liberal-conservative and leftist sectors of the public are increasingly pro-Western, there is evidence that controversies over the political implications of what it means to be a 'Western power' are on the rise.