Bismarck S Foreign Policy

Bismarck’s Foreign Policy

Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) ruled Germany’s foreign policy from 1871 until 1890. He won over Prussia’s elected representatives by unifying Germany, first the north (1866) and then (in 1871) the whole of ‘Lesser Germany.’ In 1870, the French government blundered into a conflict with Prussia. By declaring war, the French fell into a trap that the Prussian king’s chief minister, Otto von Bismarck, had carefully laid for them. War against France, the ‘traditional enemy’, was Bismarck’s best chance of inflaming German national feeling and persuading the independent south German states to unite with the Prussian-dominated states of the north, thereby unifying Germany. The Franco-Prussian war was a disaster for France. She entered the war without allies and with a badly organized army, which was a huge disadvantage compared to the speedy Prussian forces. Prussia had well-trained, highly disciplined Prussians and their German allies.
Many believe his foreign policy was a success, meaning that all the goals that were set, were achieved. Others think of this in the exact opposite way. His success can be evaluated by looking at his three main goals.

Bismarck had three main objectives as Germany’s chancellor: To isolate France, to hold peace between Russia and Austria-Hungary and to avoid being encircled diplomatically, meaning to avoid war.
Otto von Bismarck wanted to isolate France for several reasons. First of all, Germany wanted to isolate them diplomatically. He wanted to do this, because Germany was sandwiched between two Great Powers, which were France and Russia. If Germany would not isolate one of them, there could have been a war coming from two fronts, leaving Germany hopeless. Bismarck decided to isolate France, because he was confident that if the time came, Germany would be able to beat France. he isolated France by distracting the other Great European Powers. Bismarck made them believe that they were dependent on Germany’s goodwill and sought to neutralize their antagonisms by a “balancing of discontents”. Furthermore, Bismarck wanted to manage France because he was scared of a war of revenge from France. This is because Germany took Alsace and Lorraine from France and by isolating them, they would manipulate France’s sense of revanchism. Isolating France was ver successful. Until 1890 France was completely isolated from the rest of Europe. All of Bismarck’s ideas to isolate them worked very effectively and without strong France in the European picture, Germany would be one of the strings European powers, which, until 1890, they were.

Another main objective of Otto von Bismarck was to stay friendly with Austria-Hungary and Russia. Bismarck did this by making the Dreikaiserbund in 1873. The Dreikaiserbund consisted of the German Kaiser, the Habsburg Emperor and the Tsar of Russia. In 1871, Bismarck wanted to show that he was a man of peace. He called himself the ‘Honest Broker’, implying that he would not take sides in the dispute. He showed this by the personal contacts between the German Kaiser, the Habsburg Emperor and the Tsar of Russia. Because of this, the Dreikaiserbund was created. It expressed the desire of the three emperors to stand together in the interests of monarchial solidarity against the threats of republicanism and socialism. This alliance also suited as an anti-revolution alliance, which was perfect for Germany, as they wanted to become Europe’s Greatest Power. Now that the three countries were at peace, Germany did not have the fear of being encircled by Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Balkans. This was very crucial and Germany had to create Balkan peace, because if they did not, Russia would probably ally with France (causing the isolation of France to collapse) and they would avoid any revolts or wars to break out. Because Otto von Bismarck did all of this, being friendly with Austria-Hungary and Russia was a great success. Until 1890, no wars or revolts broke out towards Germany and because of this, Germany kept on climbing up the European hierarchy to brome Europe’s Greatest Power.

In 1878 it seemed to Bismarck that Germany was presented a stark choice: either accept the continuing hostility of Russia or form an alliance with her. He was unwilling to choose the latter, since that would alienate Austria-Hungary and Russia. The proposal he put to Andrassy, the Austrian foreign secretary, in 1879 was a curious one. It worried a permanent relationship with Russia, creating a sort of Germanic bloc in Europe. Austria-Hungary’s Balkan ambitions would be kept in check, while the exclusive tie with Germany would dig a ditch between the Austrian and the Western Powers. Yet Andrassy rejected these proposals. He wanted a defensive pact directed solely against Russia, which he achieved. By the terms of the Dual Alliance of October 1879, Germany and Austria promised to give full support if either were attacked by Russia. This treaty has often been called a landmark, because it was not to be a prelude to some specific action, like earlier treaties; because it lasted so long; and because, with its precise terms kept secret, it bred suspicion among other Powers, who soon came up with similar treaties of their own.

Bismarck did not want an alliance with Italy for its own sake. Italy was a second-rate, rather that a Great Power, and Bismarck was skeptical of Italy’s abilities, remarking privately that she wanted too much and had too much ideas, but could not bring everything to real life. In order to increase France’s isolation, Italy seemed a useful lay against France. By the terms of the Triple Alliance of May 1882, both Germany and Italy were entitled to support each other against an unprovoked attack by France. If Austria-Hungary were at war with Russia, Italy would be neutral-thus giving the Austrians security on their southern frontier. The years 1882 to 1887 marked the zenith of the Bismarckian system, when Bismarck could feel confident that Germany’s position in Europe was quite secure. So again, the Triple Alliance was successful for Germany’s security, so Bismarck managed to be successful again.

In conclusion, Otto von Bismarck’s foreign policy was a success. His overall aim was to avoid war from any fronts. Since the isolation of France and keeping peace with Austria-Hungary and Russia worked, it is clear that his foreign policy was a success. But, Otto von Bismarck’s foreign policy was only successful on the short run. All of his alliances and isolations collapsed once he resigned in 1890 and Count Leo von Caprivi took over the foreign policy. The Dreikaiserbund was broken and in 1892 the Franco-Russian alliance was made. This made France no longer isolated. It made Germany once again fear a war coming from two fronts and made Germany once again become inferior to the Great European Powers, which they were no longer part of.
(Fleur van den Broek)