Was Bismarck’s foreign policy 1871-1890 a success ? 
« Was Bismarck’s foreign policy 1871-1890 a success ? »
Otto von Bismarck's foreign policy held certain aims through these years and Bismarck changed his foreign policy due to the circumstances so that he could keep and achieve these objectives. These choices made by Bismarck had mixed success and failure since he had many goals but failed at achieving some of them, but at the end of it all Bismarck had achieved his main goal, which was the preservation of the new German state.
Bismarck's first idea to maintain peace in Germany was the Dreikeiserbund, which was an alliance between the emperors of Austria, Russia and Germany. This alliance was also made to isolate France, since Germany could never be an ally of France because of the German occupation of Alsace-Lorraine. The Dreikeiserbund was created on the 22nd of October 1873 but it did not hold 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 thought that Bismarck was going to establish a pre-emptive strike on France. This made England and Italy express serious concern and France had then escaped. The Dreikeiserbund fulfills many of Bismarck’s aims, therefore it can be partly seen as a success even if it ended, but then started again in 1887.
Then, Bismarck led the Congress of Berlin to balance the interests of Russia, Austria-Hungary and Britain, and to establish peace in the Balkans, which was a crucial goal to achieve for Germany. This Congress’s results were conidered as a great achievement in peacemaking, however most of the countries who participated in this Congress were not completely satified. The Ottoman Empire, called at the time « the sick man of Europe » became more vulnerable than it was before, and tensions developped in Bosnia and Herzegovina since Austria gained a lot of territory thanks to the
Otto von Bismarck's foreign policy held certain aims through these years and Bismarck changed his foreign policy due to the circumstances so that he could keep and achieve these objectives. These choices made by Bismarck had mixed success and failure since he had many goals but failed at achieving some of them, but at the end of it all Bismarck had achieved his main goal, which was the preservation of the new German state.
Bismarck's first idea to maintain peace in Germany was the Dreikeiserbund, which was an alliance between the emperors of Austria, Russia and Germany. This alliance was also made to isolate France, since Germany could never be an ally of France because of the German occupation of Alsace-Lorraine. The Dreikeiserbund was created on the 22nd of October 1873 but it did not hold 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 thought that Bismarck was going to establish a pre-emptive strike on France. This made England and Italy express serious concern and France had then escaped. The Dreikeiserbund fulfills many of Bismarck’s aims, therefore it can be partly seen as a success even if it ended, but then started again in 1887.
Then, Bismarck led the Congress of Berlin to balance the interests of Russia, Austria-Hungary and Britain, and to establish peace in the Balkans, which was a crucial goal to achieve for Germany. This Congress’s results were conidered as a great achievement in peacemaking, however most of the countries who participated in this Congress were not completely satified. The Ottoman Empire, called at the time « the sick man of Europe » became more vulnerable than it was before, and tensions developped in Bosnia and Herzegovina since Austria gained a lot of territory thanks to the