ABSTRACT
The year 1897 is generally regarded as the beginning of a new era in German foreign policy. The inauguration of a ‘world policy’ was a conscious repudiation of Bismarck’s continental policy, pursued for twenty years apart from his brief flirtation with colonies in the mid–1880s. Weltpolitik was also meant to give a sense of purpose to German diplomacy, which had lacked consistency since 1890. Caprivi’s view of the German empire in 1890 as an essentially continental power had been challenged by a variety of pressure groups and broad sections of opinion which favoured overseas expansion. Moreover, Caprivi had also offended agrarian interests by his policy of negotiating commercial treaties to lower tariffs. Although this served to improve relations with Russia, it was not enough to undermine the Franco-Russian alliance and achieve a lasting rapprochement with Russia.
