The Rapprochement of Britain and Austria-Hungary

The diplomatic history of both Britain and Austria-Hungary has been in the focus of great historians of the past and present. As works of international history heavily emphasize the events leading up to the Great War, they briefly mention the alternate alliances at the time. Such were breif cordial relations of the British Empire and the Austria-Hungarian Monarchy in 1877-1878. Besides the classic sources of diplomatic history the study seeks to involve each foreign policy level to the analysis - bureaucracy, lobby groups, and the public - to understand the reason behind the rapprochement. In conclusion, the goal of the paper is to uncover an overlooked fragment of international relations and find out how foreign policy formulated its course over the possibility of a British-Austro-Hungarian alliance.