ABSTRACT
The Dreibund exerted a significant influence upon European international relations from 1882 until the outbreak of the First World War. Der Dreibund weaves a complex, nuanced portrait of the diplomatic alignment. Holger Afflerbach re-examines the evolution of the alliance, its internal politics, and its impact upon European diplomacy while never neglecting its influence on the domestic politics of each of the three signatories. Initially, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck gave only modest attention to the Italian desire to escape diplomatic isolation. Helped by the success of King Umberto I's visit to Vienna and then by Bismarck's alarm over a sudden turn in Franco-Russian relations, the negotiations for the treaty began in earnest. If the Austro-Hungarians were less enthusiastic, Vienna nevertheless believed the new arrangement might strengthen its own position as well. The Italian elite also saw the alliance as a way to keep Berlin and Vienna from interfering in the vexing question of Rome and the Papacy.
