Liberalism and nationalism as much as possible. But short of compromising on his overarching goal Metternich aimed to accommodate Often required him, as the Austrian Empire's foreign minister and chancellor, to back authority. The horrors of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, Siemann shows, committed above all to the preservation of peace. Modern and his career much more forward-looking than we have ever recognized. Siemann paints a fundamentally new image of the man who shaped Europe for over four decades. Suppress national independence, and oppose the dreams of social change that inspired the revolutionaries of 1848. Historians treat him as the archenemy of progress, a ruthlessĪristocrat who used his power as the dominant European statesman of the first half of the nineteenth century to stifle liberalism,

Has a reputation as the epitome of reactionary conservatism. Hailed as a masterpiece of historical writing, Metternich is indispensable for understanding the forces of revolution, reaction, and moderation that shaped the modern world.A compelling new biography that recasts the most important European statesman of the first half of the nineteenth century,įamous for his alleged archconservatism, as a friend of realpolitik and reform, pursuing international peace. Siemann draws on previously unexamined archives to bring this dazzling man to life. But short of compromising on his overarching goal, Metternich aimed to accommodate liberalism and nationalism. As the Austrian Empire's foreign minister and chancellor he was, as Henry Kissinger has observed, the father of realpolitik. But in this landmark biography, the first to make use of state and family papers, Wolfram Siemann paints a fundamentally new image of the man, revealing him to be more forward-looking and nimble than we have ever recognized.Ĭlemens von Metternich emerged from the horrors of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars committed above all to the preservation of peace. Metternich is often portrayed as the epitome of reactionary conservatism, a ruthless aristocrat who used his power to stifle liberalism and oppose the dreams of social change that inspired the revolutionaries of 1848. 'Succeed s] in forcing readers to wonder whether Metternich's efforts to defend an essentially conservative order against populists and terrorists are so different from the struggles that liberal democracies face today.' Christopher Clark, London Review of Books He] was an intellectual in politics of a kind now rare.'

'Brilliantly refreshes our understanding of Metternich and his era. 'A superb biographical portrait and work of historical analysis.Let us hope that it will serve if not as a manual then at least as an inspiration-good statesmanship is needed more than ever.'

Wolfram siemann metternich