by Dominic Sambrook

Created on: December 01, 2007   Last Updated: December 02, 2007

To what extent was Bismarck's domestic and foreign policy a success?

Otto von Bismarck's was the first Chancellor of the second German Empire which was declared in 1871. At this time German was run under the bi-cameral system. During his reign Bismarck introduced different domestic policies and foreign policies. Of these policies several were seen as failures and several proved to be successes.

Otto von Bismarck's domestic policies were not entirely faultless; however he did help to promote the consolidation of Germany. The German constitution (the principles on which a state is governed) that he created was an inspired compromise; Bismarck managed to find a balance between Centralism and Federalism and also between the forces of Conservatism and Liberalism. In the 19th century there was an unavoidable conflict between the state and the Church and also between the state and socialism. Whilst Bismarck's campaigns against "enemies of the state" were not successful, they cannot be seen as complete failures. Moreover, in the context of the time, were his measures particularly repressive. For most of the 1870s Otto von Bismarck worked closely with the National Liberal party, placing their Liberal programme into place. Bismarck initiated the idea of state socialism, his policies helped Germany to develop economically and the fact that he remained in power form 1871 to 1890 is proof of his political skills. Bismarck aimed to maintain Junker dominance. Junkers are Prussian landowners. Major events that affected Bismarck's domestic policies and also the details of his domestic policies are as follows:

The German Empire was created in 1870

The Economic Boom 1872-1873
The economic history of the Reich opened with a short period of "boom"; this was stimulated by the over-generous credit policies on the part of the German bankers and by the sheer amount of money pumped into the economy by French war reparations. This fuelled a wave of unsound investment projects whose eventual collapse, similarly to the Wall Street crash, would affect business confidence for a number of years. Production and economic growth recovered relatively quickly. The product level of 1872-1873 was fully restored by 1880. However, the psychological impact would prove to be considerable. Bismarck was faced by an enormously powerful coalition in favour of protective tariffs.

Kulturkampf 1872-1878
Kulturkampf is a German term that means "Culture Struggle" or "Struggle for Civilisation". The clash with the Catholic

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