AP European History Flashcards: National Unification and Diplomatic Tensions
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 14 cards to help you master important concepts.
What general factors resulted in the unifications of Italy and Germany?
Both unifications were driven by factors including nationalist sentiment, diplomatic strategies, and military campaigns.
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What general factors resulted in the unifications of Italy and Germany?
Both unifications were driven by factors including nationalist sentiment, diplomatic strategies, and military campaigns.
Concert of Europe
A system among European powers after 1815 designed to maintain a balance of power, which broke down partly due to the Crimean War.
What role did nationalist tensions in the Balkans play in the lead-up to World War I?
Nationalist tensions in the Balkans drew the Great Powers into a series of crises, which ultimately led to the outbreak of World War I.
What was the specific aim of Bismarck's post-1871 alliance system?
Bismarck's complex system of alliances was specifically directed at isolating France to maintain the balance of power.
What was Bismarck's primary foreign policy goal after 1871?
After 1871, Bismarck attempted to maintain the balance of power in Europe through a complex system of alliances.
What two leaders and their respective strategies were central to Italian unification?
Count Cavour's diplomatic strategies combined with Giuseppe Garibaldi's popular military campaigns led to the unification of Italy.
Realpolitik
A political philosophy used by Bismarck that employed diplomacy, industrialized warfare, and the manipulation of democratic mechanisms to achieve state objectives.
What were two key forces that increased tensions among European powers from 1815 to 1914?
Nationalist sentiment and the formation of political alliances led to significant tension between and among European powers.
German Unification
The process of building a unified German nation-state, achieved by Bismarck through Realpolitik, diplomacy, and industrialized warfare.
How did the Crimean War facilitate the unifications of Italy and Germany?
The Crimean War contributed to the breakdown of the Concert of Europe, which created the necessary political conditions for Italy and Germany to unify.
What were the two most significant national unification movements of the mid-19th century?
The unification of Italy, led by figures like Cavour and Garibaldi, and the unification of Germany, led by Bismarck.
How did Bismarck use Realpolitik to achieve his goals?
Bismarck used Realpolitik by employing a mix of diplomacy, industrialized warfare, modern weaponry, and manipulating democratic processes to unify Germany.
What are two examples of events that heightened nationalist tensions in the Balkans?
The Congress of Berlin and the Balkan Wars were crises that exemplified the growing nationalist tensions in the region.
Italian Unification
The political and social movement that consolidated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy, led by Cavour and Garibaldi.