What Is Bonapartism?
Bonapartism is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his legacy. The term is used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. Part of the Technocratic family.
Definition
Bonapartism is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his legacy. The term is used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Bonapartism (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- A strong leader above parties.
- Plebiscites as a source of legitimacy.
- Order, centralization and national glory.
Origins
France under Napoleon I and Napoleon III.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Bonapartism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 50 | near the center | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 81 | toward traditional | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 86 | strongly toward authoritarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 95 | strongly toward nationalist | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 93 | strongly toward intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 65 | near the center |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 75 | toward state restrictions |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 95 | strongly toward nationalist |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 83 | toward traditionalist |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 98 | strongly toward autocratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 90 | strongly toward hierarchical |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 73 | toward state planning |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 93 | strongly toward intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 78 | toward religious authority |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National borders should become less important over time. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Foreign wars should be avoided unless national territory is directly threatened. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A strong leader who gets things done matters more than following proper procedures. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National security can justify restrictions on what journalists publish. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Class distinctions should gradually disappear. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Regulations on business should be minimized whenever possible. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National legislation should reflect the moral teachings of the country’s majority religion. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A shared language is essential to a strong national identity. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Caesarism, Bonapartism sits 7 points further toward collective / planned on the economic dimension.
- Compared with National Socialism, Bonapartism sits 11 points further toward progressive on the social dimension.
- Compared with Fascism, Bonapartism sits 17 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Bonapartism.
Sources
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.