WI Napoleon III had tried to stop the unification of Italy and Germany?

WI the main objective of Napoleon III's foreign policy had been to seek to stop the unification of Germany and Italy as nations-states with every means available?

WI he had assume this objective in the belief that, althought the unification of those countries was a highly popular cause in his days in the areas that now constitute "Germany" and "Italy", having two powerfull nation-states in her borders would go against the interests of France???

Would Germany and Italy still unify when they did with the active opposition of Napoleon III??? Would they still unify, but later??? When???

As you know, Napoleon help Cavour in his quest to unify Italy by allying with Peidmont in her war against Austria. In that war, Piedmont obtained Lombardy, and France got Niza and Savoy from Piedmont. (Piedmont would soon obtein Parma, Modena and Tuscany). Napoleon even authorised Piedmont to send troops South, after Garivaldi had conquered the Kindom of The Two Sicilies.

And Napoleon's neutrality during the Austro-Prussian war of 1866 enabled Prusia to anex Hanover and basically exclude Austria from "Germany", indirectly favouring Bismark's attempt to enlarge Prussia (or unify Germany, if you prtefer). He apparently did so in the hope of recieving some German territories in the West, whish he never got.

What if he had opt for an entirely different policy??? What if he had though that no territorial gain was worthy if that led to the formation of powerful nation-states in France's Western and Southern frontiers?

What would the British do? And now that we are at it, what WAS British policy concerning the unification of Italy and Germany IOTL? Was there a policy at all?
 
The unification of Italy was something that Napoleon III supported from the start, and he was actively involved in the unification process. The way I see it, supporting Italian unification was better for him, he would have a (powerful) catholic ally to his south, who would now be free of German influence vis a vis the annexation of the Austrian puppet states on the Peninsula.

As for Germany, his best bet would have been to support Austria, and then support the Catholic south Germans, against a unified German empire. I don't think it would have managed to keep Germany disunited forever, but he might stay in power longer if he can delay unification a few years (and, having the catholic german states as allies in a Franco-Prussian War would be a huge bonus I think).
 
You would probably need a very different set of foreign policy goals for Napoleon III.

I dont think that louis-napoleon particularly cared for the idea of a united germany or italy, except as a collection of french client states more or less under his thumb. However, in both cases he found it expedient to work with the actors who would wind up bringing about the unification, with mixed results.

The goal of Napoleon III's foreign policy was to reshape the balance of power in europe from it's Congress of Vienna imposed state, which left france as an average first-rank power, into a status where france was predominant. This meant that the other great powers of europe had to be divided and taken down a peg. And Napoleon found people like Cavour and Bismark at various points useful in those ambitions.

Take the Italians, for instance. Napoleon III didnt intend for the Franco-Austrian war to end with the massive Piedmontese victory with which it did. His intention was for the Austrians to be expelled from Italy, France to gain Nice and Savoy, and for Piedmont to make gains in lombardy. His plans for the future of italy involved a collection of states alligned with france, some with monarchs of bonaparte blood (or Naples, where Lucien Murat was to be set up). However, Cavour managed to grab far more than Napoleon wanted him to, and met with enough support in the process that the unification of italy became an accomplished fact. Faced with this, napoleon III had little choice but to belatedly support this united italy.

The ramifications of Napoleon not backing Cavour or Bismark will be major, because this will remove several decisive wars and radically alter the european balance of power (admittidly in favour of the status quo). Italian or german unification may still come around, but in a vastly different form. However, this raises several questions as to how, which can lead to several different outcomes. Is Louis-Napoleon simply a more adroit statesman, and able to curb the prussians and piedmontese through diplomacy and arms? Does he still aim to replace Austria as a leading power, but through different means? What means are they? Is he taking a new approach to foreign policy? If so, what are his goals, and how do these change the course of events? Or is he out of power, with what ramifications for french and european politics?
 
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