(5) Post-Napoleonic Europe and Ideologies

Congress of Vienna (1814-1815)

European powers convened to redraw the map of Europe after Napoleon's conquests and to establish a lasting peace.

Klemens von Metternich

An influential Austrian statesman, Metternich was a key figure at the Congress of Vienna.

He championed the principle of the balance of power, aiming to prevent any single nation from dominating Europe and to restore monarchies that had been overthrown.

Conservatism

• Core Beliefs: Conservatism, championed by thinkers like Edmund Burke, emphasized tradition, established institutions (monarchy, church, aristocracy), gradual change, and social order. Conservatives were generally wary of radical change and revolutionary ideas.

• Concert of Europe: This was an informal alliance system established by the Great Powers (Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia, and later France) to maintain the balance of power and suppress revolutionary movements. It aimed to preserve the status quo established by the Congress of Vienna.

Liberalism

Core Beliefs:

Liberalism, associated with thinkers like John Stuart Mill, advocated for individual rights and freedoms, constitutional government, limited government intervention in the economy (laissez-faire), and representative democracy.

Mill's concept of the Harm Principle argued that individuals should be free to act as they please as long as their actions do not harm others.

Nationalism

Core Beliefs:

Nationalism is an ideology that emphasises loyalty, devotion, or allegiance to a nation or nation-state.

It promotes the idea that people who share a common language, culture, history, and territory should form their own independent nation. Giuseppe Mazzini was a prominent Italian nationalist who advocated for the unification of Italy.