Editing Franz Joseph I of Austria (section)

==Foreign policy==
[[File:Francesco Giuseppe fra le truppe a Solferino 1859.jpg|thumb|Franz Joseph among his troops at [[Battle of Solferino|Solferino]], fought during the [[Second Italian War of Independence|Franco-Austrian War]] of 1859]]

===German question===
{{main|German question}}
[[File:Fuerstentag Frankfurt 1863 263-022.jpg|thumb|Emperor Franz Joseph (centre in white uniform) at the [[German Confederation|Congress of German princes]] in [[Free City of Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]], 1863]]

The main foreign policy goal of Franz Joseph had been the [[unification of Germany]] under the [[House of Habsburg]].{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=149}} This was justified on grounds of precedence; from 1452 to the end of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 1806, with only one brief period of interruption under the [[House of Wittelsbach]], the Habsburgs had generally held the German crown.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=150}} However, Franz Joseph's desire to retain the non-German territories of the Habsburg [[Austrian Empire]] in the event of German unification proved problematic.

Two factions quickly developed: a party of German intellectuals favouring a [[Greater Germany]] (''Großdeutschland'') under the House of Habsburg; the other favouring a [[Lesser Germany]] (''Kleindeutschland''). The Greater Germans favoured the inclusion of Austria in a new all-German state on the grounds that Austria had always been a part of Germanic empires, that it was the leading power of the [[German Confederation]], and that it would be absurd to exclude eight million Austrian Germans from an all-German nation state. The champions of a lesser Germany argued against the inclusion of Austria on the grounds that it was a multi-nation state, not a German one, and that its inclusion would bring millions of non-Germans into the German nation state.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=151}}

If Greater Germany were to prevail, the crown would necessarily have to go to Franz Joseph, who had no desire to cede it in the first place to anyone else.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=151}} On the other hand, if the idea of a smaller Germany won out, the German crown could of course not possibly go to the [[Emperor of Austria]], but would naturally be offered to the head of the largest and most powerful German state outside of Austria—the [[King of Prussia]]. The contest between the two ideas, quickly developed into a contest between Austria and [[Prussia]]. After Prussia decisively won the [[Seven Weeks War]], this question was solved; Austria lost no territories to Prussia as long as they remained out of German affairs.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=151}}

=== Three Emperors League ===
[[File:Franz joseph1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Portrait of Franz Joseph I by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]], 1865]]

In 1873, two years after the unification of Germany, Franz Joseph entered into the [[League of Three Emperors]] (''Dreikaiserbund'') with Emperor [[William I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I of Germany]] and Emperor [[Alexander II of Russia]], who was succeeded by Tsar [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]] in 1881. The league had been designed by the German chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]], as an attempt to maintain the peace of Europe. It would last intermittently until 1887.

=== Vatican ===
In 1903, Franz Joseph's veto of [[Jus exclusivae]] of Cardinal [[Mariano Rampolla]]'s election to the papacy was transmitted to the [[Papal conclave, 1903|Papal conclave]] by Cardinal [[Jan Puzyna de Kosielsko]]. It was the last use of such a veto, as the new [[Pope Pius X]] prohibited future uses and provided for [[excommunication]] for any attempt.{{sfn|Murad|1968|p=127}}<ref>See also http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05677b.htm (discussing the papal veto from the perspective of the Catholic Church)</ref>

=== Bosnia and Herzegovina ===
{{Main|Bosnian Crisis}}
{{See also|Austro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878}}
[[File:Franz Josef I of Austria - voice recording (1900).ogg|thumb|Voice recording of the emperor speaking into [[Valdemar Poulsen]]'s magnetic wire recorder at the [[1900 World's Fair]].]]

During the mid-1870s, a series of violent rebellions against [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman rule]] broke out in the Balkans, and the Turks responded with equally violent and oppressive reprisals. Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia]], wanting to intervene against the Ottomans, sought and obtained an agreement with Austria-Hungary.

In the [[Budapest Convention of 1877]], the two powers agreed that Russia would annex southern [[Bessarabia]], and Austria-Hungary would observe a benevolent neutrality toward Russia in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|pending war]] with the Turks. As compensation for this support, Russia agreed to Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.{{sfn|Albertini|2005|p=16}} A scant 15 months later, the Russians imposed on the Ottomans the [[Treaty of San Stefano]], which reneged on the Budapest accord and declared that Bosnia-Herzegovina would be jointly occupied by Russian and Austrian troops.{{sfn|Albertini|2005|p=16}}

The treaty was overturned by the 1878 [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]], which allowed sole [[Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Austrian occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina]] but did not specify a final disposition of the provinces.{{clarify|date=June 2016}} That omission was addressed in the Three Emperors' League agreement of 1881, when both Germany and Russia endorsed Austria-Hungary's right to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina.{{sfn|Albertini|2005|p=37}} However, by 1897, under a [[Nicholas II of Russia|new tsar]], the Russian Imperial government had again withdrawn its support for Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Russian foreign minister, Count [[Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov|Mikhail Muravyov]], stated that an Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina would raise "an extensive question requiring special scrutiny".{{sfn|Albertini|2005|p=94}}

In 1908, the Russian foreign minister, [[Alexander Izvolsky]], offered Russian support, for the third time, for the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, in exchange for Austrian support for the opening of the [[Bosporus Strait]] and the [[Dardanelles]] to Russian warships. Austria's foreign minister, [[Count Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal|Alois von Aehrenthal]], pursued this offer vigorously, resulting in the quid pro quo understanding with Izvolsky, reached on 16 September 1908 at the Buchlau Conference. However, Izvolsky made this agreement with Aehrenthal without the knowledge of Tsar [[Nicholas II]] or his government in St. Petersburg, or any of the other foreign powers including [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], [[French Third Republic|France]] and [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]].

Based upon the assurances of the Buchlau Conference and the treaties that preceded it, Franz Joseph signed the proclamation announcing the [[annexation]] of Bosnia-Herzegovina into the Empire on 6 October 1908. However a diplomatic crisis erupted, as both the Serbs and the [[Kingdom of Italy|Italians]] demanded compensation for the annexation, which the Austro-Hungarian government refused to entertain. The incident was not resolved until the revision of the Treaty of Berlin in April 1909, exacerbating tensions between Austria-Hungary and the Serbs.