Date of Submission
Spring 2020
Academic Program
Political Studies
Project Advisor 1
Walter Russell Mead
Abstract/Artist's Statement
This project aims to investigate the Balance of Power Bismarck reinstated in Europe following the 1871 Franco-Prussian War, how Bismarck as the architect of German strategies until 1890 fulfilled his statesmanship, and why his system collapsed after his retirement, leading Europe into a spiral of war. This project constructs its research and examination by combining historical evidence and analyses with International Relations theories, as well as a review of various literature based on Bismarck and his era. This project regards fear as a twofold catalyst of war, that for geopolitical survival and for legitimate governance. The Bismarckian system fails to fundamentally address such grievances brought by the rise of Germany and its hegemonic influence on European affairs.
Open Access Agreement
On-Campus only
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Min, Siyuan, "The Bismarckian System and His Balance of Power" (2020). Senior Projects Spring 2020. 17.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2020/17
This work is protected by a Creative Commons license. Any use not permitted under that license is prohibited.
Bard Off-campus DownloadBard College faculty, staff, and students can login from off-campus by clicking on the Off-campus Download button and entering their Bard username and password.