Austro-Hungarian Monarchy: Foreign Policy

Austria-Hungary early became reconciled with Germany and joined the Three Emperors' League. At the Congress of Berlin (1878; see Berlin, Congress of) Count Andrássy, the foreign minister, secured a mandate over Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1879 he entered an alliance with Germany, joined also by Italy in 1882 (see Triple Alliance and Triple Entente). The formation of the Triple Entente (France, England, Russia) to oppose this alliance led to the tense diplomatic situation that preceded World War I. The foreign policy of Graf von Aehrenthal led to the Bosnian crisis of 1908–9, and the reckless demands that his successor, Graf von Berchtold, made on Serbia after the assassination of Francis Ferdinand helped to precipitate the cataclysm.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Destruction of the Monarchy
• Foreign Policy
• Domestic Policy: Divide and Rule
• The Nature of Austria-Hungary
• Bibliography

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