Foreign Policy of Bismarck – iTopper IAS Academy

In 1862, Otto von Bismarck was appointed Prime minister of Prussia.
Bismarck was a ruthless politician and a believer in “Realpolitik” who pursued aggressive policies and unified all these 39 German states into one nation state known as “German Empire or Deutsches Reich”.
Bismarck’s ultimate goal was to unite the German states into a strong German Empire or Deutsches Reich with Prussia as its core.
In 1862, Bismarck reorganized the Prussian army and improved training in preparation for war.
In 1864, he constructed an alliance with Austria to fight Denmark over Denmark’s southern provinces of Schleswig and Holstein.
With Austria out of Bismarck’s way, his next obstacle was scepticism of southern provinces.
Catholic and anti-militaristic, the southern provinces doubted Prussia’s commitment to a united Germany of all provinces.
Prussia’s Protestantism and historic militarism made the gulf between north and south quite serious. Therefore, Bismarck turned to realpolitik to unite the Germanic provinces by constructing a war against a common enemy.
He also concluded favorable treaties with France and Czar of Russia.
These proved to be the master stroke of Bismarck’s foreign policy.