German foreign policy after Bismarck

A. The 'New Course", 1890-96

- In 1890 a decision to reject Bismarck's system (by a new German

Chancellor Caprivi)
 the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia (1887) was not renewed (even
Russia wanted continuation for the treaty)
 'the treaty incompatible with Germany's commitments to her other
allies, esp. Austria-Hungary'
The Franco-Russian Alliance (1892/1894)
and its impact
- The iniative game from France  a security from a German attack
- In 1891 an anti-British political entente aligning France with Russia in
imperial disputes
- In the military convention solved next year:
a) A mutual support if either were attacked by Germany
b) Immediate mobilisation response to mobilisation by one or more of
the Triple alliance powers
(In 1894 the Tsar's confirmation and the signing of a full-scale alliance)
<> How to solve the problem of the possibility of a war on two fronts?
a) the Schlieffen Plan (1906)
b) an Anglo-German alliance?  a possibility to get British support
against Russia for the defence of Austro-Hungarian interests in the
Balkans
¨no agreement between Germany and Britain was made
 Why not?
B. Weltpolitik and the end of the British isolation, 1897-1904

- a 'World Policy' put an emphasis on expansion, especially overseas

expansion > the creation of a big navy
(a new policy was embarked by appointment of Bülow as a foreign minister
and Admiral von Tirpitz as a head of navy)
 German Naval Bills in 1898 and 1900

How fair is it to say that ‘the Weltpolitik was motivated by the German
domestic politics?’  page 80

 'Social imperialism'
Anglo-German relations
• Economic and industrial rivalry
• ’Anglophopia’ in German public opinion especially during the Boer War (1899-
1902)
• ’Germanophopia’ in British public opinion after the 2nd German Navy Bill (1900)
 German government tried to appease British suspicions (e.g. Kaiser’s visits to
London)
• Some leading members of the British government tend to shift Britain from the
’splendid isolation’ to alliance with Germany
¨Germany’s align with Britain could antagonize Russia (which had imperial
rivalries with Britain)
 No alliance with Britain
• Anglo-Japanese alliance in 1902
- instead of Anglo-German alliance(!)
- Britain abandoned formally from ’isolationism’(!)
For increasing tensions in the Far East Britain was afraid to be drawn
to conflict between Japan and Russia
… and possibly with France too ( Russo-French alliance)

…  ??!!
The Anglo-French Entente Cordiale (1904)
- Britain accepted France’s claim to a predominant influence in
Morocco in return to French recognisition of the British rule in
Egypt
- not a military treaty
- a mutual desire to put aside past quarrels and co-operate in
future

- Russo-Japanese War (1904-05)

The Anglo-Russian Entente (1907)
• Backround: Russia’s defeat in the Far East made it ready for compromises in Central
Asia
• Anglo-Russian tensions in Persia, Tibet and Afghanistan were solved (e.g. Persia was
divided into three zones)
• The security of India was confirmed (by ‘buffer states’) and (besides the actual
agreement) a free passage of Russian warships on the Straits (between the Black
Sea and the Mediterranean) was promised by Britain
Great Britain

Germany
Russia
France

Italy Ausria-Hungary