Creation of the Dual Alliance

In summary, Russia was not happy with the final results of the Congress of Berlin. Bismarck was quick to pick up on this feeling and wanted to take further steps to protect his country against the threat of Russia and France. Thus, in 1897, he turned to Austria-Hungary and offered a treaty that became known as the Dual Alliance.

The Dual Alliance was a landmark treaty in European history. It was a new type of treaty between nations for several reasons:

1. Usually in European history, war treaties were signed just before fighting broke out or, they were for a very specific purpose. The Dual Alliance was signed during peacetime.
2. The treaty had no time limit. In other words, there was no end point for the agreement. It would last as long as the counties agreed to it. Traditionally, most treaties were limited to a set period of time.
3. No country was identified as an enemy to the countries involved. The alliance did not name the country (ies) that the treaty applied to. With no declared enemy, all countries feared that they were the one the alliance was against. This created paranoia amongst all European countries.
4. The goals and purpose of the alliance were kept secret to everyone except the two signing countries. This contributed to the suspicions of other European countries that the deal was against them.

The Dual Alliance gave Bismarck a sense of security for his new nation. The agreement called for mutual defense and assistance if either partner was attacked by a third power. Bismarck could now count upon a powerful ally should she be attacked.