Editing Foreign relations of Germany (section)

==History==
{{main|History of German foreign policy}}The history of German foreign policy covers diplomatic developments and international history since 1871.

Before 1866, [[Austrian Empire|Habsburg Austria]] and its [[German Confederation]] were the nominal leader in German affairs, but the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Hohenzollern Kingdom of Prussia]] exercised increasingly dominant influence in German affairs, owing partly to its ability to participate in German Confederation politics through its [[Electorate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg holding]], and its ability to influence trade through its [[Zollverein]] network. The question of excluding or including Austria's influence was settled by the Prussian victory in the [[Austro-Prussian War]] in 1866. The [[unification of Germany]] was made possible by the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–71, in which the smaller states joined behind Prussia in a smashing victory over France. The [[German Empire]] was put together in 1871 by [[Otto von Bismarck]], who dominated German and indeed all of European diplomatic history until he was forced to resign in 1890.