What was the ideology of a Bonapartist? Was it literally just>whatever, just let a bonaparte ruleor was there more to it?It seems to be:>limited "revolutionary" ideas; democracy fine, but ideally controlled. people's rights also fine to a limited level>big army>big france>death to prussia
>>18662825>bonapartism>democracy fineWhat?
>>18662885didn't they believe that a level of "democracy" was fine provided it was quite controlled? ie late 2nd empire constitution
>>18662825Actual Bonapatism is radically central and realistically pragmatic, completely against ideology.It has a few principles:>A member of House of Bonaparte has to be the head of state>strong and centralized state with advanced yet efficient administration and bureaucracy>Political stuff should be concentrated around the head of state and all of these sort of partisanship nonsense should be banned>strong and large armed forces modernized to the latest innovations and reforms>Everything else is just choosing the most sensible option at the timePretty much that. Everything else is cope.>>18662903And that was the reason its army got blocked from reforming by politicians, then a few years later those same politicians forced Napoleon III into war with Prussia.
>>18663068The catastrophe of the Franco Prussian War is one that the liberals have greater blame for. They were the chief agitators, had undermined the military years before, and afterward chose to carry on the war even after Sedan, believing a levee in mass of human waves would somehow stop the Germans like it did in the 1790s. The fact the 3rd republic survived was an accidental thing, with the French Right-Wing monarchists infighting/incompetence while General MacMahon normalized the new regime.
