German Foreign Policy, 1904-1906

Abstract

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The geographical pivot of history and early twentieth century geopolitical culture

“…As a counter to this, in 1902 the Admiralty had pressed for the two‐power standard, plus six battleships over and above the straight parity with France and Russia (Bartlett 1993, 99). The direct relevance of Mackinder's analysis about the risk of a Russo‐German coalition, usually treated dismissively, is demonstrated by the fact that twice during the Russo‐Japanese War, Kaiser Wilhelm II did propose an alliance with Russia (Sontag 1928). A first attempt in October 1904 was unsuccessful (Steinberg 1970 1977–81), but in July 1905 the Russian Tsar signed the Bjorkö Treaty, a defensive alliance, even though the Russians were to denounce it a few months later (McLean 2001, 50–1).…”