Avoiding WW1 option 2 No Austrian alliance

Could Germany have decided not to "chain itself to the corpse" which was the Austrian empire?

If that happened would Germany still face a risk of War with Revanchist France?
 
There were very real cultural, historical, ethnic and geopolitical reasons behind the Dual Alliance and I do not think this was bad in and of itself and its nonexistence would not have prevented WWI. A Germany focused on Central and Eastern Europe and its development under German influence would have had a better chance of avoiding war than the Germany with the naval program and colonial pretensions.
 
For this to work you have to have a PoD long before the beginning of World War I. First of all, you'd need a different Bismarck, one who isn't concerned with unity and cooperation among the German people. Most likely, the event of no Austro-German Alliance requires a reason for Austria to NOT want to ally with Germany rather than to want to.
 
I have heard a big part of the issue was that the Kaiser backed Austria without bothering to really look into what they wanted to do. Their war goals and their capabilities.

Austria entered the war far too belligerently. If the Kaiser had been more prudent, he may have required more from Austria before he gave his official backing.
 
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