The Great Powers, Imperialism and the German Problem 1865-1925

269 Pages·1994·7.716 MB·English

by  John Lowe

The Great Powers, Imperialism
and the German Problem,
1865-1925
The dramatic events of the early 1990s in central and eastern Europe
underline the importance of political change, as well as power
politics on the grand scale. John Lowe introduces the critical issues
in international affairs from the period of German unification to
the aftermath of the First World War.
Pursuing a lucid thematic approach to problems in European diplo
macy, John Lowe examines the impact of imperialist expansion
on international relations. He highlights the global rivalries and
aspirations of an increasingly powerful united Germany. He shows
that the intertwining of the German Problem with Austro-Russian
rivalries in the Near East, aggravated by Balkan nationalism, contri
buted greatly to the escalation of international tension in the decade
before 1914.
This book sets out a clear framework for understanding the complex
situations and major issues in international affairs of this period. It
provides an ideal text for students of European and German history,
and for courses on Imperialism, and the Origins of the First World
War.
John Lowe was formerly Principal Lecturer in European History at
Oxford Brookes University. His publications include The Concert of
Europe: International Relations, 1814-70 (1990) and Rivalry and Accord:
International Relations, 1870-1914 (1988).

The Great Powers,
Imperialism and the
German Problem,
1865-1925
John Lowe
London and New York
First published 1994
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016
Transferred to Digital Printing 2005
© 1994John Lowe
Typeset in Baskerville by Intype, London
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Lilnary of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Applied for
ISBN 0-415-10443-2 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-10444-0 (pbk)
Contents
List of illustrations viii
~~~ ~
Introduction: the European powers in the late nineteenth
c~Wry 1
The balance of pOOJer and the Concert of Europe 2
The great puwers 3
The 'flanking' powers: Britain and Russia 4
The central POOJers: Austria(-Hungary) and (Prussia-)Germany 10
France 15
The lesser POOJers: Italy and Turkey 18
The rising puwers: Japan and the United States 21
Sources and further reading 23
1 International relations: Biarritz to the Berlin Post,
1865-1875 24
The war of 1866, Sadowa and the policy of pourboires 29
Franco-Prussian relations, 1867-1870 33
Bismarck and the Hohenzollern candidature 35
The Franco-Prussian war 38
Germany and the great POOJers, 1871-1875 39
Sources and further reading 42
2 The dilemma of Bismarcldan foreign policy, 1875-1887 44
The Near East crisis of 1875-1878 45
The creation of the 'Bismarckian system' 1879--1882 54
Pan-Slavism and revanchism 60
The Bulgarian crisis of 1885-1887 and the Bismarckian system 63
Britain and the ThpbJ Alliance 66
The decline of the Bismarckian system 70
Sources and further reading 73
vi Contents
3 Imperial rivalries in Africa, 1875-1898 74
The debate on imperialism 74
The scramble fur Africa 82
AngllrFrench rivalry (WeT Egypt and west Africa in the 1880s 85
Confrontation on the Niger and the Nile in the 1890s 91
Bismarck's bid fur colonies, 1884-1889 93
German diplomacy in Africa, 1890-1898 100
Sources and further reading 106
4 The Far Eastern crisis of 1895-1905 and the ententes of
1904 and 1907 109
The western powers in China 109
Russian expansion in the Far East 114
The Boxer rising and the Manchurian crisis 117
The AngllrJapanese alliance of 1902 119
The AngllrFrench entente of 1904 123
The urigins of the Russo-Japanese war 128
The AngllrRussian entente of 1907 132
Sources and further reading 139
5 Weltpolitik, the navy and Anglo-German relations,
1897-1913 141
Interpretations ofWeltpolitik 143
Weltpolitik in action 149
The Jailure' ofWeltpolitik 151
Naval rivalry 153
The search fur a naval agreement 159
Anglo-German relations 161
Sources and further reading 164
6 Crises and tension, 1905-1913 166
The Moroccan crisis of 1905-1906 166
The Agadir crisis of 1911 174
The Bosnian crisis of 1908-1909 183
The Balkan wars, 1912-1913 188
The 'German Problem' on the eve of the 1914 war 195
Sources and further reading 200
7 The great powers and the July crisis, 1914 202
Introduction 202
The Austro-Serb conflict 203
Russia and the Balkans 210
Germany and the policy of 'calculated risk' 216
Britain and the failure of mediation 221
Contents vii
France and the absence of restraint 227
Military planning, 11Wbilization and the cult of the offensive 229
The origins of the First World War 232
Sources and further reading 239
Epilogue: The German Problem, 1919-1925 241
Sources and further reading 253
Index 255
IDustrations
All illustrations are contemporary cartoons from Punch
Peace - and no Pieces! (25 August 1866) 32
A Blaze of Triumph (27 July 1878) 55
A Fixture (19 November 1898) 94
The 'Irrepressible' Tourist (29 August 1885) 98
'Paws om' (27 March 1901) 120
Copyright Expires (24 March 1909) 158
On Tour (5 April 1905) 170
Professional Etiquette (12 July 1911) 178
The Boiling Point (2 October 1912) 191
The Power Behind (29 July 1914) 208
Maps
The Ottoman empire in decline, 1870-1913 20
The Balkans and the Congress of Berlin, 1878 52
Africa: the progress of partition by c. 1890 88
Africa: 1914, the partition completed 105
The great powers in the Far East in the late
nineteenth century 111
Russia, central Asia and the defence of India 134
The Balkan wars, 1912-1913 194