Realpolitik in the context of "Silesian Wars"

Power politics is a term which denotes an approach to political matters which aims to enhance the power of government actors. The term has much usage in the realm of international relations, and it is often used pejoratively.

The German term for it, Machtpolitik, emphasizes conflict between nations as a way to assert national will and strengthen the state. This idea is related to Realpolitik but specifically acknowledges the use of force in establishing the German Empire. It often involves a romanticized view of military virtues and the belief that international conflicts serve a moral purpose.

Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (/ˈbɪzmɑːrk/; born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as its first chancellor from 1871 to 1890. Bismarck's Realpolitik and firm governance resulted in his being popularly known as the Iron Chancellor (Eiserner Kanzler).

From Junker landowner origins, Bismarck rose rapidly in Prussian politics under King Wilhelm I of Prussia. He served as the Prussian ambassador to Russia and France and in both houses of the Prussian parliament. From 1862 to 1890, he held office as the minister president and foreign minister of Prussia. Under Bismarck's leadership, Prussia provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France. After Austria's defeat in 1866, he replaced the German Confederation with the North German Confederation, which aligned the smaller North German states with Prussia while excluding Austria. In 1870, Bismarck secured France's defeat with support from the independent South German states before overseeing the creation of a unified German Empire under Prussian rule. Following Germany's unification, he was given the aristocratic title Prince of Bismarck (Fürst von Bismarck). From 1871 onwards, his balance-of-power approach to diplomacy helped maintain Germany's position in a peaceful Europe. While averse to maritime colonialism, Bismarck acquiesced to elite and popular opinion by acquiring colonies.

The First Silesian War (German: Erster Schlesischer Krieg) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia (the lands of the Bohemian Crown) and formed one theatre of the wider War of the Austrian Succession. It was the first of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.

No particular triggering event started the war. Prussia cited its centuries-old dynastic claims on parts of Silesia as a casus belli, but Realpolitik and geostrategic factors also played a role in provoking the conflict. Maria Theresa's contested succession to the Habsburg monarchy provided an opportunity for Prussia to strengthen itself relative to regional rivals such as Saxony and Bavaria.

Deng Xiaoping Theory (Chinese: 邓小平理论; pinyin: Dèng Xiǎopíng Lǐlùn), also known as Dengism, is the series of political and economic ideologies first developed by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The theory does not reject Marxism–Leninism or Maoism, but instead claims to be an adaptation of them to the existing socioeconomic conditions of China.

The theory also played an important role in China's modern economy, as Deng stressed opening China to the outside world, the implementation of one country, two systems, and through the phrase "seek truth from facts", an advocation of political and economic pragmatism.

Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nicknamed "Supermac", he was known for his pragmatism, wit, and unflappability.

Macmillan was seriously injured as an infantry officer during the First World War. He suffered pain and partial immobility for the rest of his life. After the war he joined his family book-publishing business, then entered Parliament at the 1924 general election for Stockton-on-Tees. Losing his seat in 1929, he regained it in 1931, soon after which he spoke out against the high rate of unemployment in Stockton. He opposed the appeasement of Germany practised by the Conservative government. He rose to high office during the Second World War as a protégé of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In the 1950s Macmillan served as Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer under Anthony Eden.

Ivica Dačić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ивица Дачић, pronounced [îʋitsa dâtʃitɕ]; born 1 January 1966) is a Serbian politician serving as deputy prime minister of Serbia since 2022 and minister of internal affairs since 2024. He has been the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) since 2006.

Dačić graduated from the University of Belgrade in 1989 and joined SPS in 1991. He quickly rose up the ranks of the party, becoming its spokesman in 1992, under his mentor, Slobodan Milosević, President of Serbia and FR Yugoslavia. After the fall of Milošević, he served as the minister of information in a transitional government from 2000 to 2001. Dačić became SPS party leader in 2006. Like his predecessor Milošević, he is regarded as a pragmatic leader willing to change views based on circumstance and has worked to reform the party. Dačić led SPS into a government with the Democratic Party (DS) in 2008, after which he became the first deputy prime minister and minister of internal affairs, roles which he served until 2012. The DS–SPS government reached an EU candidate status. After the 2012 parliamentary election, SPS formed a coalition government with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS); Dačić was elected prime minister. The SNS–SPS government pursued the European Union to start formal negotiations for the accession of Serbia and he signed the Brussels Agreement on the normalisation of relations of governments of Serbia and Kosovo.