The Role of Crises in Shifting German Energy Geopolitics

Crises can become turning points in energy politics because they mark moments in which established structures and ways of thinking are being challenged. In this article, we analyse shifting geopolitics, i. e. changes to notions of national identity, national interests and international relations, in German parliamentary debates about energy crises and the resultant energy related legislation from 1949 to 2022. We focus on crises and catastrophes in relation to coal, oil, nuclear power, climate change, and Russian gas imports. We show that crises have led to shifts in German energy geopolitical thinking, but rarely to a complete realignment. Consequently, we identify turning points, but also continuities and path dependencies of energy discourse and legislation. Our analysis underlines the need to consider changing energy politics and geopolitics against the background of their respective historical discursive and legal contexts.