Coercive Diplomacy: Otto Von Bismarck And The Unification Of Germany

By Lt.-Col. Kenneth R. Krasner USMC

Otto von Bismarck, Prussia’s “Iron Chancellor,” was arguably the dominant political figure in Europe during the nineteenth century. With acute political moves, he adroitly manipulated opportunities to achieve European hegemony for Germany and, thus, considerably altered Europe’s political scene and balance of power. As the principal architect of German unification, he utilized subtle diplomacy, the formation of alliances, Prussia’s formidable army, and a series of calculated—albeit limited—wars against his European neighbors to create Germany’s second empire. As the archetypical statesman who espoused the power of the state in the international system, Bismarck recognized that a successful foreign policy and national strategy required the conscious integration of force and diplomacy in order to achieve his overarching goal of German unification. His political leadership thus succeeded because he understood that the use of force was a complement, and not alternative, to diplomacy. This paper examines Bismarck’s manipulation of diplomatic and military instruments of national power to achieve his political goal, concluding that the fusion of force and diplomacy was the essence of Bismarck’s statesmanship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Normanby Press
• Release date: Nov 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781786250032

Lt.-Col. Kenneth R. Krasner USMC

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Text originally published in 2012 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

Coercive Diplomacy: Otto von Bismarck and the Unification of Germany

By

Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth R. Krasner, USMC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ABSTRACT 5

German Confederation and the Rebirth of Nationalism 6

The 1848 Revolution 8

The Rising Statesman 10

The Danish War of 1864 12

The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 13

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 14

The Prussian Army 16

Conclusion 18

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 20

ABSTRACT

Otto von Bismarck, Prussia’s Iron Chancellor, was arguably the dominant political figure in Europe during the nineteenth century. With acute political moves, he adroitly manipulated opportunities to achieve European hegemony for Germany and, thus, considerably altered Europe’s political scene and balance of power. As the principal architect of German unification, he utilized subtle diplomacy, the formation of alliances, Prussia’s formidable army, and a series of calculated—albeit limited—wars against his European neighbors to create Germany’s second empire. As the archetypical statesman who espoused the power of the state in the international system, Bismarck recognized that a successful foreign policy and national strategy required the conscious integration of force