Otto von Bismarck and his Policies-

Otto von Bismarck and his Policies- Otto von Bismarck or Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince von Bismarck, Count von Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke von Lauenburg--was a Prussian statesman who in 1871 founded the German Empire and served as its first chancellor for 19 years. Once the empire was established, he actively and skillfully pursued pacific policies in foreign affairs, succeeding in preserving the peace in Europe for about two decades. But in domestic policies his patrimony was less benign, …

…in the 1870s and the socialists in the 1880s because both constituted unforeseen threats to his authoritarian creation. He also introduced a vicious rhetoric into German politics that forestalled a sense of common destiny. While German industry developed rapidly during his decades in power, he would allow no evolution in the political system toward greater participation. In this sense, Bismarck was a last representative of the world of the ancient régime and cabinet diplomacy.