The Terrible Tale of Metternich

There once was a man named Metternich. Metternich was an aristocrat in Austria desperately trying to keep his nation together. Austria was both strong and weak. It was strong due to its vast territories but weak because it was divided by different nationalities There were Germans, Italians, Hungarians, and many more. With all these nationalities, it was safe to assume a rise in nationalism would divide each group of people and therefore divide Austria. As an aristocrat, a divided Austria would not benefit him so Metternich fought against nationalism and liberalism in all countries. 

His crusade against these ideas focused primarily on not allowing what happened in France to happen any where else. He was totally against revolution. Metternich believed liberalism lead to war. His idea was similar to Hobbes who believed people left on their own would result in chaos. 

Hobbes and Metternich would have been bffs if it wasn't for the minor fact Metternich was born a 100 years after Hobbes died.

One thing Metternich lead was the Holy Alliance. This was an alliance between Austria, Prussia, and Russia and is not to be confused with Quadruple Alliance which was Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain or the Great Powers which was Austria, Prussia, Russia, Britain, and France. The Holy Alliance was a symbol of the repression of revolutionary movements and in some ways was successful. It resorted Ferdinand to the throne of Two Sicilies and controlled the German Confederation. Through the German Confederation, Metternich issued the Carlsbad Decrees which suppressed the freedom of the press and made a committee of spies to punish liberal organization. I guess you could say Metternich put the bad in Carlsbad. (lol I'm so funny)

However, as hard as Metternich tried, he was a conservative living in a world of revolution. As though he might try, the revolutions at this time could not be stop. For example, when Greece revolted against the Turks, Metternich sided with the Turks. He believed that no one should revolt from their leaders no matter what. France along with many other countries sided with the Greeks however because they felt a connection to them and because the Turks were Muslim.  This strong public opinion forced Metternich to stand down. Furthermore, as hard as he tried Austria still revolted. They were defeated by the Austrian army but it showed the revolutionary spirit was still there. It seemed that the more he tried to enforce his policies the more people revolted.

Metternich may have thought he was putting out the fires of revolution but more often than not he was just adding fuel to the fire. 

All of Metternich policies violated one thing: self determination.  Previously countries were okay with other countries actions as long as they did not effect themselves. However, this changed when Quadruple Alliance decided on a ruler for France. Furthermore, when Ferdinand was crowned king was another violation of self determination. Because countries were afraid of other countries effecting them with their ideas, they used this to justify intervening with other countries' governments.