Both Cavour and Bismarck used methods that we call Realipolitik (or "realistic politics").
Count Camillo di Cavour was prime minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, serving under King Victor Emmanuel II. Cavour was a political realist who chose paths of action that would benefit his overall aims, whether or not they fit some specific ideology or master plan. Cavour and Victor Emmanuel II increased the influence of Piedmont-Sardinia, and took control of other Italian territories, working from north to south. Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered territories working from south to north, and then handed over what he had gained to the leadership of Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour for a united Italy.
Otto von Bismarck was Minster President and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Prussia. In his leadership of Prussia, Bismarck helped create wars with neighboring countries to increase national pride among the German people. The main wars that Bismarck provoked in increasing national pride and unity among the German people were the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Following the Franco-Prussian War, the German Empire was established, and Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck to the position of Chancellor.
