Bismarck and Realpolitik

Jonathan Stephen Harry Riley
5 min readMay 9, 2024

The German politician and founder of United Germany in 1871 was ridiculed, and his reputation was left in tatters due to Otto von Bismarck and his association with Realpolitik.

This is an ideology where political decision-making is not based on morality or political ideology.

Regarding the critical tenant, to understanding realpolitik, it is vital to understand the nature of the international political environment in which you live and respond accordingly with factual information, with a decision not based on emotionalism.

--

--

Jonathan Stephen Harry Riley

I have been writing from 2014 to the present day; my writing is focused on history, politics, culture, geopolitics and other related topics.