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PuzzledFox99 (talk | contribs) (Admittedly, when this article was in its draft form, I based this list off a YouTube video. But now I'm cutting some of the more dubious examples like the ROC and Singapore, the former I had a Trotskyist source for, the latter I had no source for. If the Russian Federation isn't an example, that can be cut too since my only source for it is OneDime, but I am genuinely not sure if Putin is a Bonapartist upon further reflection.) |
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* The [[Second French Empire (1852 – 1870)|Second French Empire]] under [[Napoleon III]] | * The [[Second French Empire (1852 – 1870)|Second French Empire]] under [[Napoleon III]] | ||
* The [[German Empire (1871–1918)|German Empire]] under [[Otto von Bismarck]]<ref>{{Citation|author=Friedrich Engels|year=1866|title=Friedrich Engels to Karl Marx in Margate, 13 April 1866|mia=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1866/letters/66_04_13.htm}}</ref> | * The [[German Empire (1871–1918)|German Empire]] under [[Otto von Bismarck]]<ref>{{Citation|author=Friedrich Engels|year=1866|title=Friedrich Engels to Karl Marx in Margate, 13 April 1866|mia=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1866/letters/66_04_13.htm}}</ref> | ||
* The [[Russian Federation]] under [[Vladimir Putin]]<ref name="1DimePutin">{{Video citation|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8d6Vzi7zYg|channel=1Dime|title=Post-Soviet Russia: From Gangster Capitalism to Bonapartism (Documentary)|date=2022-08-21}}</ref> | * The [[Russian Federation]] under [[Vladimir Putin]]<ref name="1DimePutin">{{Video citation|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8d6Vzi7zYg|channel=1Dime|title=Post-Soviet Russia: From Gangster Capitalism to Bonapartism (Documentary)|date=2022-08-21}}</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 01:02, 13 March 2025
In Marxist thought, Bonapartism refers to a system where a counter-revolutionary dictatorship attempts to mediate between antagonistic class interests.[1] Bonapartist regimes typically come into existence during times of revolution, where they appropriate revolutionary symbols while actually having reactionary goals. For this reason, Bonapartist regimes tend to characterize themselves as "neither left nor right," despite actually serving the right in practice.[2] According to Vladimir Lenin, "Bonapartism is a form of government which grows out of the counter-revolutionary nature of the bourgeoisie, in the conditions of democratic changes and a democratic revolution."[3]
The name of Bonapartism derives from the Bonaparte dynasty, which ruled France twice, first under Napoleon Bonaparte and then under his nephew Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte. It was on Louis-Napoleon that Karl Marx, a contemporary, wrote The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, which described the nature of Bonapartism in detail. Marx described how, when Louis-Napoleon became emperor, the bourgeois class surrendered some of its political power to the emperor so that it may continue to have social power, for "in order to save its purse it must forfeit the crown."[4]
Outside of Marxist circles, "Bonapartism" also refers more specifically to the belief that the Bonaparte dynasty should rule France.[5] "Bonapartism" in this sense would be a sub-category of monarchism.
Examples[edit | edit source]
Notable examples of Bonapartism include:
- The First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte
- The Second French Empire under Napoleon III
- The German Empire under Otto von Bismarck[6]
- The Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin[7]
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd ed.), vol. 3: 'Bonapartism' (1971) (Russian: Boljšaja sovjetskaja enciklopjedija). [PDF] Moscow.
- ↑ Second Thought (2022-03-18). "Why "Neither Left Nor Right" Just Means Right Wing". YouTube.
- ↑ Vladimir Lenin (1917). They Do Not See the Wood for the Trees. [MIA]
- ↑ Karl Marx (1852). The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte: 'Rise of Louis Bonaparte'. [MIA]
- ↑ Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. "Bonapartism," accessed August 30, 2024, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Bonapartism.
- ↑ Friedrich Engels (1866). Friedrich Engels to Karl Marx in Margate, 13 April 1866. [MIA]
- ↑ 1Dime (2022-08-21). "Post-Soviet Russia: From Gangster Capitalism to Bonapartism (Documentary)". YouTube.