Analyse the Aims successes and failures of Bismarck's Foreign policy between the years 1871 and 1890.

Authors Avatar

Analyse the Aims successes and failures of Bismarck’s Foreign policy between the years 1871 and 1890.

James Smith-Lower Sixth Picasso

Differently to Bismarck’s domestic policy, which seemed to have differing aims across these years it seems that Bismarck’s foreign policy maintained certain aims across these years and Bismarck adapted his foreign policy due to the circumstances in front of him so that he could maintain and achieve these aims. These choices made by Bismarck had mixed success and failure but at the end of it all Bismarck had achieved his main aim, The preservation of the new German state.

        Bismarck’s first idea to maintain peace in Germany was the League of Three Emperors, which was an alliance between the emperors of Austria, Russia and Germany. Other aims that come out of this alliance were the isolation of France and trying to avoid making a choice between Austria and Russia. The league was created on the 22nd of October 1873 but it remained much like an empty shell as Germany rejected ideas for a Russo-German military pact shortly after its creation. Bismarck had preserved peace and stopped the chance of him making a choice between Russia and Austria however France had escaped isolation. France escaped because it was misinterpreted that Bismarck was going to launch a pre-emptive strike on France and because of this England and Italy expressed serious concern and France had then escaped. The league of three Emperors can be seen as a success and a failure for these reasons.

Join now!

        Then begun a crisis in Europe known as the Eastern Crisis, which forced Bismarck to adapt his policies. This was started by an uprising in Bosnia-Herzegovina that threatened the existence of the Turkish empire, which would leave a huge void in Europe, that both Russia and Austria would want to fill, if it collapsed. He once again aimed to maintain peace and therefore the existence of Germany and to do this he had to stop growing tension between Austria and Russia and also avoid making a choice to join either because if he did the other would look to France ...

This is a preview of the whole essay