Page "Otto von Bismarck" Paragraph 2

He used balance-of-power diplomacy to keep Europe peaceful in the 1870s and 1880s.

He created a new nation-state and led the way to the welfare state.

He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an overseas empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion.

Bismarck, a devout Lutheran was loyal to his king, who in turn gave Bismarck his full support.

While his new German Empire had universal male suffrage, the elected officials did not have real control of the government.

Bismarck distrusted democracy and ruled through a strong, well-trained bureaucracy with power in the hands of a Junker elite representing the landed aristocracy in the east.