AHC/WI: Post-Napoleon Germany fails to unite?

The unification of the various entities in Germany really started following their consolidation under the mediatisation program of Napoleon following the War of the Second Coalition in 1803. Under the Confederation of the Rhine, the German states then more of a shared experience and thus shared national identity. This would lead to greater economic cooperation and eventually the Prussian-led unification against the Austrians first and later the French.

The challenge is with a post-Napoleon POD (that is, after the HRE's dissolution at the hands of Napoleon and its consolidation into fewer states) prevent the German states from uniting into one Germany. Further consolidation is allowed, but there must be at the minimum 4 states present: Austria, Prussia, and two others, bonus if you can get more.

How would this affect the German identity? How about European diplomacy and nationalism? Would this affect the Italian unification process?
 
The unification of the various entities in Germany really started following their consolidation under the mediatisation program of Napoleon following the War of the Second Coalition in 1803. Under the Confederation of the Rhine, the German states then more of a shared experience and thus shared national identity. This would lead to greater economic cooperation and eventually the Prussian-led unification against the Austrians first and later the French.

The challenge is with a post-Napoleon POD (that is, after the HRE's dissolution at the hands of Napoleon and its consolidation into fewer states) prevent the German states from uniting into one Germany. Further consolidation is allowed, but there must be at the minimum 4 states present: Austria, Prussia, and two others, bonus if you can get more.

How would this affect the German identity? How about European diplomacy and nationalism? Would this affect the Italian unification process?

The formation of a Scandinavian Union, with Schleswig-Holstein as a member entity, would be a fairly easy way of getting at least one of those Germanic states. This would require a more robust and earlier Pan-Scandinavian movement... maybe you get this by having a free Norway formed post-Vienna or, if we're talking a pod within the Napoleonic frame, having Copenhagen align with the Coalition with Britain sending gold rather than gunboats, and Sweden and Denmark-Norway co-operating closely to defend the later (or at least the island portions) from French-CotR invasion (the later producing some Germanophobia).
 
Arguably the German Empire being formed solely from the states of the North German Confederation, with the southern states staying mostly independent, would fulfill this.
 
Arguably the German Empire being formed solely from the states of the North German Confederation, with the southern states staying mostly independent, would fulfill this.

If we realy cheat and call OTL Germany an enlarged Prussia, OTL would count:
There is Germany/Prussia, Austria, Luxemburg and Liechtenstein.


Further consolidation is allowed, but there must be at the minimum 4 states present: Austria, Prussia, and two others, bonus if you can get more.
But I will admit that is cheating and certainly not the way the Original Poster intended.

So most important step for any independent Prussia is to avoid any Western Prussian territory. Keep Prussia solely in Eastern Germany, preferably with a continous territory without any enclaves and exclaves. So I would suggest a POD at Vienna, possibly even earlier. Give Prussia Saxony and give the former rulers of Saxony the Prussian territories in the west. Keep Prussia, Austria and Bavaria (and for fun maybe also British Hannover) out of any German unification effort and you basicly have the situation the Original Poster described.
 
I think Napoleon needs a rump Prussia and Austria to stay threats to his new German clients so they accept French protection and look for distinct identities. Is this enough to stop the clients wanting to unite?
 
So most important step for any independent Prussia is to avoid any Western Prussian territory. Keep Prussia solely in Eastern Germany, preferably with a continous territory without any enclaves and exclaves. So I would suggest a POD at Vienna, possibly even earlier. Give Prussia Saxony and give the former rulers of Saxony the Prussian territories in the west. Keep Prussia, Austria and Bavaria (and for fun maybe also British Hannover) out of any German unification effort and you basicly have the situation the Original Poster described.

And exactly HOW this is done is really the operative/key detail. This phrase alone is a tautology; of course having the Germanic states being kept out of a German unification effort results in no unified Germany. Indeed, I'd argue that forming a new Rhinish state is more likely to encourage Pan-German sentiment; the new rulers are going to have to tap into something to get the perception of legitimacy both for their rule and their state.
 
And exactly HOW this is done is really the operative/key detail. This phrase alone is a tautology; of course having the Germanic states being kept out of a German unification effort results in no unified Germany. Indeed, I'd argue that forming a new Rhinish state is more likely to encourage Pan-German sentiment; the new rulers are going to have to tap into something to get the perception of legitimacy both for their rule and their state.

This right here is one of the big factors I do want to hone in on. How does one limit Pan-German sentiment that lead to accelerated integration after Napoleon? Even if the southern German states don't join the North German Confederation, pan-German sentiment between them might have them joining together as one state or with Austria, nullifying the goal of 4 or more states. Napoleon as he does kickstarted German romantic nationalism, so the POD means that you have to contend with the beginnings of the pan-German movement.

However, you have the rest of the Napoleonic wars to butterfly away some things; the Congress of Vienna isn't set in stone. Would a different German mediatisation have checked the growth of German nationalism? Would removing the Confederation of the Rhine as an entity prevent the sentiment of a continued HRE/German confederation?
 
This right here is one of the big factors I do want to hone in on. How does one limit Pan-German sentiment that lead to accelerated integration after Napoleon? Even if the southern German states don't join the North German Confederation, pan-German sentiment between them might have them joining together as one state or with Austria, nullifying the goal of 4 or more states. Napoleon as he does kickstarted German romantic nationalism, so the POD means that you have to contend with the beginnings of the pan-German movement.

However, you have the rest of the Napoleonic wars to butterfly away some things; the Congress of Vienna isn't set in stone. Would a different German mediatisation have checked the growth of German nationalism? Would removing the Confederation of the Rhine as an entity prevent the sentiment of a continued HRE/German confederation?

I'm not sure removing the CotR would do much unless it involves Nappy not messing with the Germanic structure/institutions to a substantial degree. Occupation/Annexation would just make things worse by creating common Francophobia and imposing the same French legal system over them all. The Confederation was actually probably one of the most effective potential structures for limiting Pan-Germanism, since it let the German states remain independent from one another while still having enough initiatives/power to not turn to unity in rebellion. Though, maybe the Napoleonic Wars last longer and result in the delegitimizing of some of its member states and a greater hostility of the Coalition members to the former French clients? This could result in a longer term prostrate Prussia who won't be given the Rhineland, stronger Austrian presence in the Germanies, a Scandinavia capable of projecting influence into the region... maybe even have Habsburgs installed on a few German thrones and thus tie dynastic loyalties and local autonomy to freedom/power as opposed to HRE pan-German imperialism
 
Economic pragmatism will still see some variant of the Zolliverin, this might allow the various microstates and princelets maintain nominal independence but effectively form regional confederations around the bigger five or six powers. Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia, and one or two others might also form a pan-Germanic trade front with an economy somewhat like that of OTL but with a few more barriers. This does factor out World War I and create larger butterflies from there.
 
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