With reference to the period up to 1914, examine the impact of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s foreign policy on Britain, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary.

Candidates will consider the impact of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s foreign policy on Britain, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary. Candidates may focus on how relations between these powers and Germany were affected by the Kaiser’s foreign policy. They may also discuss whether the four countries’ wider foreign relations (for example with each other and other powers) were altered because of the Kaiser’s policy as well as any other effects it may have had on each or all of them. Candidates may consider how Britain became increasingly unlikely to form an alliance with Germany, noting the impact of issues such as the Kruger Telegram, the naval race and the Moroccan crises. Candidates may argue that the Kaiser’s foreign policy contributed to the Dual Alliance between France and Russia. They may also refer to the actions taken by Austria-Hungary that were supported by Germany, such as the Bosnian Crisis (1908) and the “blank cheque” (1914). While this is not a question about the causes of the First World War, candidates may argue that the wider impact of Wilhelm’s policies was the division of Europe into two opposing alliance systems.