description: This thoroughly researched book on the Second Empire examines how Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was able to secure election as President of the Republic and subsequently to launch a coup d'état to establish a Second Empire. It considers the ways in which power was exercised by the new empire and how Napoleon III engaged in a difficult process of transition towards more liberal policies only to experience catastrophic defeat and the destruction of the regime because of war against Prussia.
language: English
title: The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power
titlecomplete: The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power (New Studies in European History)
genres: History
ratings_count: 4
series: New Studies in European History
publisher: Cambridge University Press