Diplomatic Career and Strategies of Otto von Bismarck - Case Study Example

Otto von Bismarck Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian and German sman of the nineteenth century who presided over the unification of Germany. He was the Minister-President of Prussia from 1862 till 1890. He became Chancellor of the North German Confederation. After the formation of the second German empire in 1871, he became the first Chancellor. He played a leading role in the transformation of Germany into a major power. Bismarck was born to a wealthy family and had aspirations for becoming a diplomat after graduating from the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin. After his marriage, he was chosen to be a member of the Prussian legislature where his pro royalist sentiments earned him the reputation of a reactionary politician. During the mid nineteenth century, the Prussian monarchy was forced to make concessions to a liberal movement. However within a year, the conservative faction retook control of Berlin. Bismarck was elected to the lower house of the new Prussian legislature in 1849. During this stage, he opposed the unification of Germany. His eight years in Frankfurt as the Prussian envoy to the Diet of the German Confederation changed his political views. He now advocated the unification of Prussia with other German states because of the Austrian threat. Bismarck became the ambassador to Russia after a new king took over the government of Prussia. Bismarck’s position was important because Russia was a powerful neighbor of Prussia. He stayed in Russia for four years and was sent to Paris as ambassador to France (Crankshaw, 23). A new monarch in 1861 became engaged in conflict with the liberal Prussian Diet. A crisis was reached when the Diet refused to fund the reorganization of the army. The King was also unwilling to make concessions. Bismarck was appointed Minister-President and foreign minister on September 1862. He wanted to maintain the royal supremacy even if it meant using extralegal means. The conflict with the legislature increased and the king dissolved the Diet. Bismarck issued a policy calling for restricting the freedom of the press. These measures were very unpopular as Bismarck was considered a poor leader. Bismarck faced a diplomatic crisis as Frederick VII of Denmark died in 1863. The duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were disputed and claimed by Christian IX and by Frederick Von Augustenburg’s, a German duke. The people of Prussia supported the claim of the German duke. A diplomatic crisis with Denmark began when Bismarck insisted that territories belonged to the Danish monarch. An ultimatum was issued for Christian IX to return the duchies to its former status. The refusal of Denmark led to the declaration of war by Austria and Prussia. War was initiated with Denmark as Austrian and Prussian armies invaded commencing the second war of Schleswig. Denmark was forced to give up both duchies. An agreement was also signed between Prussia and Austria in which Schleswig was given the former and the latter received Holstein. This agreement was known as the Gastein Convention which was signed in 1865 (Eyck, 56). Austria demanded that the German Diet resolve the issue of Danish duchies. Bismarck called for a war with Austria as he accused them of violating the Convention of Gastein. Prussian troops quickly occupied Holstein. Austria was provoked and called for the help of other German states. Bismarck wanted to unite the German states into a powerful empire with Prussia dominating it. He knew that war would be vital for the success of his plan. Austria and its allies were decisively defeated at the Battle of Sadowa. Under Albrecht von Roon’s reorganization, the Prussian army was able to win decisive battles against the Austrians. A secret alliance was also made with Italy which wanted to control Austrian held territory of Venetia. The entry of Italy into the war forced the Austrians to divide their forces. The resulting Peace of Prague saw the dissolving of the German confederation and the annexation of many territories to Prussia. Schleswig, Holstein, Frankfurt, Hesse-Kassel and Nassau were now under the domination of Prussia. The North German Confederation was also formed with Bismarck its Chancellor. King Wilhelm I became the President of the confederation and Bismarck became its Chancellor. Austria would never again threaten Prussia and remain a mere vassal of Germany. The military victory ensured the popularity of Bismarck as the House of Deputies was dominated by conservatives. The largely conservative House now had good relations with Bismarck. It approved the budgets of the past four years. Bismarck is considered a talented statesman because of his policies (Ludwig, 13). The unification of Germany is seen as one of the most successful achievements of Bismarck’s policies. Another enemy of Germany was France which was ruled by Napoleon III. War broke out after a German prince was offered the Spanish throne which was blocked by France. The Franco-Prussian war of 1870 was a decisive victory for Prussia as the Germans stirred by nationalism and patriotic zeal rallied to provide troops. The French were defeated in all the major battles. France was forced to surrender Alsace and part of Lorraine because German generals believed it would keep France on the defensive. The war with France helped Bismarck persuade the Southern German states to unify with the Northern states. He offered special concessions and the negotiations were successful in 1871. The new German empire was a federation which consisted of twenty five constituent states retaining autonomy. These events proved that Bismarck’s greatest talent was to react to events and turn them to his advantage. Otto von Bismarck became chancellor of the German empire in 1871 while retaining his Prussian offices. He had a large control over domestic and foreign policy. Bismarck’s foreign policy consisted of preventing any major powers allying with France. He was dedicated to maintaining peace in Europe to preserve the strength of the German empire. He had to face French desires of avenging their defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. He used a policy of diplomacy to isolate France and maintain good relations with other nations in Europe (Palmer, 73). To ensure British cooperation he refused to seek a colonial empire or expand the German navy. Bismarck maintained good relations with Italy and play a partial role in the unification of Italy. The Austrian-Prussian war had allowed Italy to annex Venetia. The Franco-Prussian war also led to the removal of French troops from Rome and The Papal States. Bismarck played an important role in the Congress of Berlin which reduced the advantages of Russia in Southeastern Europe. Like other E European leaders, he was opposed to the Russian influence and tried to protect the power of the Ottoman Empire. His relations with Russia were not friendly. Bismarck pursued a colonial policy after 1870 as Germany gained Togoland, Cameroon, German East Africa and German South-West Africa. Bismarck spent his last years criticizing and discrediting the Emperor. He died in 1898 at the age of eighty three. Bismarck’s most important legacy is the unification of Germany. Germany had existed as hundreds of separate and independent states since the Holy Roman Empire. Bismarck’s efforts allowed German kingdoms to become a single country. Following unification, Germany became a powerful nation in Europe. Bismarck’s policies were cautious and pragmatic which allowed Germany to preserve its strength. France was however devastated by Bismarck’s wars and became his most bitter enemy. Austria another power which was weakened by Bismarck was done to a lesser extent than France. During his thirty year old tenure, Bismarck held power over the government’s policies. He was supported by Albrecht Von Roon, the war minister and the leader of the Prussian army Helmuth von Moltke (Pflanze, 77). Bismarck’s successful diplomacy depended upon a victorious Prussian military. These military victories were essential in pressurizing the other German states to unify into a single nation. Otto von Bismarck remains a significant figure who influenced the political character of modern Germany. His iron man image and unique personality was a major factor in German development. He wanted to strengthen the role of Prussian within the German states. His decisions and general ideological orientation transformed Germany into a distinctive part of Europe. Everything which was done was to strengthen the central power. He wanted to keep good relations with Russia and Austria. A treaty signed between Russia, Austria and Germany in 1872 was aimed at stopping the spread of revolution in Europe. For the Chancellor this treaty was a union of conservative ideas against nationalism and socialism. It called for mutual defense against any power attacked by a fourth power. However this treaty could not prevent conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia over the Eastern Question. Bismarck enjoyed a free hand for pursuing his foreign policies. The successful outcome of three wars was the task of promoting peace and gaining time to ensure that the German empire would be accepted by other European states. Bismarck was concerned that the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire would lead to a conflict between the Habsburg monarchy and Russia. Also France was a major threat because of its desires to avenge its defeat at Sedan. Both areas could lead to a general European conflagration which could involve Germany (Palmer, 93). In 1873, Bismarck embraced a pacific foreign policy which saw peace treaties with Russia and Austria-Hungary. However the victory of Russia in its war with Turkey in 1877 saw the Austrians and British threatening war over the peace imposed on Turkey. Bismarck called a peace conference in Berlin in which the Russians had to moderate their gains and peace was ensured. A general European war had been averted but Bismarck negotiated a defensive alliance with Austria which remained through World War I. Previously in the 1860s he had rejected such an alliance. However the destruction of Habsburg monarch would lead to Russian expansionism into Central Europe. Bismarck had no desires of embracing seven million Austro-German Catholics to the empire. Bismarck negotiated a revived alliance in 1881 in which Italy also joined to counter French hostility. The policy appeared to be a triumph for Bismarck as France was isolated and did not have any allies for a war of revenge. However the brief nature of the alliance was revealed as Russian and Austrian relations became bad because of a crisis in Bulgaria. War was once again averted due to Bismarck’s diplomacy. He had to negotiate a separate peace treaty with Russia while maintaining the accord with Austria Hungary. Between 1870 and 1890, Bismarck earned the respect of European leaders as a sincere leader for peace. Germany had mostly been satisfied with acquiring a few colonial acquisitions and most of Bismarck’s tenure was marked with maintaining peace and averting a general European conflagration (Palmer, 100). His tactical skills have successfully created a powerful German empire in the first decade of his power. The next two decades were spent to consolidate these skills in maintaining peace. Bismarck is considered a towering figure because Germany was the weakest of the five European powers. Nine years after the victory of Prussia over Austria witnessed the creation of a unified German empire in the heart of Europe which created envy and fear among its rivals. Thirty years after Bismarck left office, the centre of Europe which was characterized as a weak alliance of principalities was now transformed into the most powerful military and industrial power on the Continent. Bismarck’s legacy to the next generation is a mixed one. His diplomacy allowed twenty years of peace in Europe which gained him a reputation for moderation and pragmatism. However the German empire survived only for twenty years because of the failure of Bismarck to create an internally unified people. His domestic policy was conservative in which the Catholic Centre and socialists were threats to the authoritarian government of the German Empire. The lack of political development was also another failure which did not evolve the German political systems towards more political participation. Bismarck was in a sense the last representative of the conservative politics of Europe. History’s judgement on Bismarck is mixed because of his inability to create modern political institutions that could have lived on without his personal guidance. The Kaiser Wilhelm II either by naivety or overconfidence undid much of Bismarck’s accomplishments which ultimately set the stage for World War I (Ludwig, 33). Otto von Bismarck began his political career from modest beginnings. He was the Minister-President of Prussia, Chancellor of the North German Confederation and Chancellor of the second German empire. His statesmanship, diplomacy, cautious and pragmatic policies are credited with transforming Germany into a major industrial and military power which did not alienate its neighbors. Bismarck made peace treaties with major powers to ensure that no country would threaten the German empire’s existence. Wars with Denmark, Austria and France were crucial in uniting the various German states and principalities. This was a feat which had been tried by several rulers in the past but all had failed. Never since the Holy Roman Empire was that Germany united. Bismarck’s wanted to ensure that the Balkans would not cause a general European conflagration. For this purpose he used diplomacy to sign treaties with Austria and Russia. Relations with Russia however were strained after limits were imposed on the gains it made during the war with Turkey. Bismarck wanted to protect the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire so that Russia would not dominate the Balkans. Similarly Bismarck embarked upon a policy of isolating France to ensure that the latter would not try to avenge its humiliating defeat in the Prussian-French war. Europe in the nineteenth century was moving towards a break from the past. National borders were collapsing and new political awareness was developing in the minds of every citizen. It was on the threshold of a new revolution. These ideas were bought by people like Otto von Bismarck which wanted a different future. He began a realistic and conservative type of politics which meant carrying out the goals rather than being guided by rules. His political aim was the domination of Prussia and a unified Germany. Bismarck achieved both of these goals. His manipulation, caution and pragmatism made him one of the greatest German statesmen of all times. Works Cited: Crankshaw, Edward. Bismarck. The Viking Press. (1981). Eyck, Erich. Bismarck and the German Empire. W. W. Norton & Company. (1964). Emil Ludwig, Wilhelm Hohenzollern: The last of the Kaisers, New York (1927) Palmer, Alan. Bismarck, Charles Scribner’s Sons. (1976) Otto Pflanze. Bismarck and the Development of Germany. 3 vols. (Princeton University Press, 1963–90). Read More