War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

6 WARBYREVOLUTION

IntheBismarckianview,theonlypossiblevalueofforeignpeoples,
particularlyminorities,was inproducingproblemsfor amilitaryor
politicalenemyofGermany.Forinstance,as early as1866,duringthe
Austro-PrussianWar,thePrussiangovernmentestablishedcontacts
withnationalitygroupsinAustria,includingtheHungariansand
Slavs,withtheideaofpersuadingthemtorevoltagainstthegovern-
mentinVienna.AftertheformationoftheGermanEmpire,itsarmy
highcommandenvisionedstrikingRussia,asoneofficersaid, by fo-
mentingrevolutionorinsurgencyamongthenon-Russianminori-
tiesalongRussia's"vulnerableborders."?
Theideaofincitingrevoltamongtheminoritiesofaforeignen-
emyofGermanydidnotendwithBismarck'sdismissalin1890.There-
aftertheGermanemperor,theyoungandbelligerentWilhelmII,and
othersin hisgovernment,expandedtheconcept.Whileintensifying
Germany'srole inTurkey,theydiscussedpan-Islamismandits po-
tentialforpromotinginsurgencyinthevastcolonialholdingsaround
theworldofcompetingimperialistnations."
Inparrthisideareflectedthekaiser's"newcourse"inGermanfor-
eignpolicy,officiallyproclaimedduring 1896 and 1897 byWilhelm
andhisforeignsecretary,BernhardvonBulow:pursuingexpanded
Germaninfluenceoverseas-infact,globalpower.'?Theresulting
Weltpolitik,basedontheconstructionofapowerfulnewbattlefleet
andonBerlin'seagernesstopushitsadvantageateveryinternational
crisispoint,producedsharpdisagreementswithothernations,par-
ticularlyBritain,France,andtheUnitedStates,overcolonialterrito-
ries intheFarEast,LatinAmerica, andAfrica."
Moreover,bothBritainandRussiafeltendangeredbythesteadily
expandingGermaneconomicandmilitaryinfluenceintheOttoman
Empire.AlthoughLondon,as well assomehistoriansmuchlater,
eventuallybelievedthatGermanyintendedtoturnTurkeyintoa sat-
elliteorcolonyoftheReich,GermanpolicytowardConstantinople
seemedmuchlessdefinedandconsistentatthetime. Actually, Berlin's
approachtotheOttomanEmpirewasdictatedto aconsiderableex-
tentbythekaiser'spersonalandquixoticviewsonthepotentialuse-
fulnessofTurkeyandIslamagainstBritain,identifiedbyWilhelmII
andmanyotherGermansastheirnation'sarchenemy."