The Decline of Bismarck’s European Order: Franco-Russian Relations 1875–1890 was published by Princeton University Press in 1979 and represents the first volume of what Kennan intended as a multi-volume study of the origins of the First World War. It is a work of pure diplomatic history — Kennan’s retirement project, undertaken after his withdrawal from active policy debate — and it demonstrates that his gifts were as great in historical scholarship as in political analysis.
The book examines the period from the war scare of 1875 (when Bismarck appeared to contemplate a preventive war against France) to Bismarck’s dismissal in 1890, focusing on the gradual rapprochement between France and Russia that would ultimately issue in the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1894 — the alliance that divided Europe into two hostile camps and made a general European war, when it came, catastrophically destructive.
Kennan’s thesis is that the stability of Bismarck’s system — the system of interlocking alliances that kept the peace after 1871 — was always precarious, dependent on Bismarck’s personal diplomatic genius, and that it began to erode well before his dismissal. The Franco-Russian rapprochement was driven by structural forces (France’s need for an ally against Germany, Russia’s need for French capital) that no amount of Bismarckian virtuosity could permanently contain.
Collecting The Decline of Bismarck’s European Order
First edition (Princeton University Press, 1979): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $30–$70
- Without jacket: $10–$25
Projected values (2026–2036): Modest appreciation.
Bismarck’s Legacy
The Decline of Bismarck’s European Order: Franco-Russian Relations, 1875–1890 (1979) is Kennan’s detailed diplomatic history of how Bismarck’s carefully constructed European balance of power began to unravel, leading ultimately to the alliance system that produced World War I. The book demonstrates Kennan’s mastery of archival diplomatics and his conviction that the origins of the twentieth century’s catastrophes lie in the late nineteenth century’s diplomatic failures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Kennan write about Bismarck? Kennan admired Bismarck’s realism — his willingness to pursue limited, achievable foreign policy objectives rather than ideological crusades. The study of Bismarck’s system and its collapse reinforced Kennan’s broader arguments about the dangers of moralistic foreign policy.