Volte-face is a total change of position, as in policy or opinion; an about-face.

The expression comes through French, from Italian voltafaccia and Portuguese volte face, composed of volta (turn) and faccia (face).

In the context of politics a volte-face is, in modern English, often referred to as a U-turn or a flip-flop

Flip-flop

Flip-flops, thongs, Japanese sandals, or jandals are an open type of outdoor footwear, consisting of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap, like a thin thong, that passes between the first and second toes and around either side of the foot...

 in the UK and the US respectively.

In politics

• The royal assent by Charles I
  Charles I of England
  Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
  
   in June of 1628 to the Petition of Right.
• The 1938 decision of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
  Neville Chamberlain
  Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
  
   to subsidize Balkan economies to resist German economic supremacy.
• The 1990s switch of the Bharatiya Janata Party
  Bharatiya Janata Party
  The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
  
   of India
  India
  India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
  
   from a support of swadeshi products to the embracing of free market
  Free market
  A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
  
   ideas
• The switch from populist protectionist policies that fed national movements to free market capitalism wholly at odds with election promises of Solidarity in Poland and the African National Congress
  African National Congress
  The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
  
   in South Africa
• Nick Clegg
  Nick Clegg
  Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
  
  , the UK Liberal Democratic
  Liberal Democrats
  The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
  
   party leader and Deputy Prime Minister's decision to vote in favour of raising university tuition fees to up to £9000, having pledged against supporting any rise during the General Election campaign 2010.

In diplomacy

• The Diplomatic Revolution
  Diplomatic Revolution
  The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 is a term applied to the reversal of longstanding diplomatic alliances which were upheld until the War of the Austrian Succession and then reversed in the Seven Years' War; the shift has also been known as "the great change of partners"...
  
  .
• The Soviet-German Pact.
• The successful manoeuver of Italy
  Italy
  Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
  
   in September 1943, when the Italian Army
  Italian Army
  The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
  
   capitulated immediately after the Allied invasion of Sicily
  Allied invasion of Sicily
  The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
  
  . Italy switched sides from one of the aggressor Axis Powers
  Axis Powers
  The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
  
   and was allowed to co-operate with the Allies
  Allies
  In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
  
   with notable benefits (Britannica: "The Allies' invasion of Italy and the Italian volte-face, 1943").
• The Soviet switch from supporting Somalia
  Somalia
  Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
  
   to supporting Ethiopia
  Ethiopia
  Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
  
   during the Ogaden War
  Ogaden War
  The Ogaden War was a conventional conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 and 1978 over the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been...
  
  .

In business

• New Coke
  New Coke
  New Coke was the reformulation of Coca-Cola introduced in 1985 by The Coca-Cola Company to replace the original formula of its flagship soft drink, Coca-Cola...
  
   replaced Coca-Cola
  Coca-Cola
  Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
  
  's main product with one containing a different formula. After a public backlash, Coca-Cola reintroduced the original formulation.