Realpolitik is a strong-minded political strategy that was used by many political thinkers between 19 th and 20 th centuries. Generally, the word is literal as realpolitik just mean practical or actual political practices. The idea was originally coined by Niccolo Machiavelli and it is more of the German word. Realpolitik is characterized by real power, realism, and pragmatism. Unlike other political philosophies, realpolitik is not based on any political ideology or any explicit notion, as it is not based on any moral or ethics. Therefore, the paper focuses on Bismarck’s realpolitik.
Bismarck is one of the most notable people in Germany who practiced realpolitik. Bismarck mainly used realpolitik in order to achieve Prussian dominance in German, as he used the tactic to advance Prussian status and to obtain greater dominance in the whole of Europe. Bismarck said in one of his speech that the “Great independence of the individual makes it difficult in Prussia to govern with the constitution.” 1 He manipulated some of the issues such as Schleswig-Holstein and the Hohenzollern candidature to terrorize other nations with the intention of war. Bismarck could sometimes antagonize other countries or cause war in order to achieve his objectives for the sake of advancing Prussian. In addition, Bismarck used controversial social policies in order to influence some changes from top-down in order to resist major resistance that could come from the public. 2 Besides, Prussian did not demand territory from the Austria, a factor which significantly enhanced the unification of German empire. Therefore, Bismarck practiced realpolitik for the sake of Prussian.
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Even though some of the tactics used by Bismarck were barbaric, they were justifiable as they were practical ways of making things done. For instance, some of the tactics that were used by Bismarck helps in the unification of German Empire. At the same time, he used realpolitik to reduce resistance, which could have affected some of the noble projects and policies that were good for the general public. Therefore, Bismarck realpolitik tactics were justifiable.
Bibliography
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Speech by Otto Von Bismarck, Blood, and Iron , 1999.
Tangpuz Mark. C. “Realpolitik of Otto Von Bismarck and Camillo di Cavour.” The Color of the Law , 2013. http://marcchristiantangpuz.blogspot.co.ke/2013/01/realpolitik-of-otto-von-bismarck-and.html
